


Enchanted

by xBreeButterflyx



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: BAMF Isabelle Lightwood, Bisexual Isabelle Lightwood, Bisexual Maia Roberts, Dark Magic, Domestic Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Genderbending, Hurt Alec, Insecure Magnus Bane, It’s Complicated, M/M, Mpreg, Multi, Mundane Magnus Bane, Pansexual Simon Lewis, Please Don't Hate Me, Post 3x10, Powerlessness, Protective Magnus Bane, Spells & Enchantments, not exactly mpreg
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2018-08-02
Packaged: 2019-06-06 05:12:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 26,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15187547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xBreeButterflyx/pseuds/xBreeButterflyx
Summary: What should be a routine mission ends up being far more complex than expected, thanks to Iris Rouse. She enchants Alec with a newly-created spell that transforms him into a woman. As the gang tries to figure out a reversal for the spell, some complications occur.





	1. The Revenge of Iris Rouse

**Author's Note:**

> Please read the tags before you begin.

“You better make it back to me,” Magnus teased him, but they could both feel the seriousness and the fearfulness hidden underneath.

Alec flashed him a reassuring smile and stepped a bit closer to his fiancé, cupping his cheek with his calloused fingertips and planting a soft, sweet kiss upon his lips. They stayed that way for what felt like hours, breathing each other in and savoring the moment before Alec had to go out on the mission.

The Shadowhunter took a reluctant step back and raised his hand into Magnus’ line of sight, crossing his fingers and nodding once. “Promise.”

And with a few more words of endearment and declarations of love, Alec retrieved his bow and quiver from its rightful place next to the coat rack and made his way out the door and into the bustling nightlife of New York. He was already late enough as it was, having lost track of time so easily within Magnus’ presence.

He met Isabelle, Jace, Simon, Clary, and Lydia at a subway station in downtown Manhattan. While Lydia and Jace looked slightly annoyed and a bit antsy, Isabelle only smirked as he approached their little group.

“You’re late,” Jace sighed as he glanced back down at the watch on his wrist. That, within itself, was odd to see at first. But apparently Clary had eventually gotten pretty fed up with Jace’s inability to arrive anywhere sooner than twenty minutes late.

Alec only grimaced. He nodded towards the subway as it pulled into the station and the group walked inside.

“Oh Jace, you should be grateful. Everyday brother dearest spends with our all-time favorite mundane is another day we don’t have to deal with Alec’s snappy bitch mode,” she grinned as she flipped her hair behind her shoulder.

Alec was not impressed, given the look he leveled Isabelle with. “I do not act like a snappy bitch,” he deadpanned.

“Not anymore,” Simon piped up from behind Isabelle, albeit unhelpfully.

Alec scoffed, as if the recently-ascended shadowhunter’s mere existence offended him personally. “Shut it, mundane.”

“I haven’t been a mundane for over a year now!” Simon cried out indignantly. It was always so easy to rile him up.

“Still act like one,” Lydia muttered under her breath as she fiddled with a throwing knife on her weapons belt.

Alec slowly turned to face his ex-fiancé and smiled slightly. “Exactly what I have been saying this entire time.”

“I swear to god if you were straight you and Lydia could be mistaken for an old married couple,” Clary chuckled from where she was leaning against one of the many poles in the subway’s aisle.

Alec only shrugged. “Well, Lydia _is_ the only woman I could probably stand to marry,” he joked.

She threw her head back with a loud, high-pitched laugh. “I don’t know if I should feel flattered or offended.”

“Probably both. Alec doesn’t do regular compliments. He’s only capable of giving them when he dishes it out with sarcasm and bitterness,” Jace said.

Alec rolled his eyes. “And tonight, on ‘The Lets Insult Alec As If We Have Nothing Better To Do’ show”.

His sister threw her arm around him and giggled. She looked up at him with an all-knowing glint in her deep, chestnut eyes. “Our beloved Alexander Lightwood’s snappy bitch mode has officially been reactivated,” she added, as if to finish off his open-ended statement.

Before he could snap back with an undoubtedly extra salty reply, the subway car jolted to a stop and the doors slid open. They’d reached their stop.

The group of shadowhunters made their way out of the station and back onto the streets. Lydia reached into the bag on her back and whipped out her tablet. Her slender, manicured fingers tapped the screen a few times before she showed the rest of them what was displayed.

It was a map of the city. The cluster of red dots near the waterfront indicating the location of their intended targets. According to the powers of GPS, they were approximately forty-seven minutes away on foot. But that, of course, wasn’t taking into account their speed runes. With those activated, they could cut that time in half. Perhaps more.

A comfortable silence fell upon the group as they went into shadowhunter mode. They all activated their desired runes and got their respective weapons at the ready as they sped through the nightlife of the city.

The mission was pretty high up on their priority list. A group of demons had been wreaking havoc amongst the docks for the past few days. It was so bad at this point that the mundanes were too scared to even go move their boats away to another location. The mundanes had no idea that the creatures were demons, though. They moved strictly in the shadows and only attacked during the blackest of the night.

But still, Magnus had been worried about him. He wasn’t exactly sure why; hell, even he didn’t understand it. Alec had been on missions far more complicated and dangerous than this before. Granted, he was no longer as actively involved on the battlefield as his occupation of Head of the New York Institute consumed much of his time, but it was still nice to go out on missions with his family and friends from time to time.

When asked, Magnus couldn’t really give him a concrete answer. All he could tell him was that something didn’t feel right about this mission. The warlock borderline-begged him not to go, and to stay behind his desk for the evening instead. But Alec, for once, hadn’t relented, anxious to be productive in ways that didn’t involve killing his brain cells with the mountains of paperwork that always accumulated on his desk everyday. He needed a break from it all. The bad feeling Magnus had was probably just stress. He had been especially overworked this week, following up on countless dead-end legends in the Book of the White that might help him reacquire his magic.

The former warlock had been without his powers for almost six months now, and it was starting to take its toll on him. He didn’t feel like he was complete without it. Like he was only a shell of who he was anymore. Alec had been trying to help him find a way to get his powers back, but they haven’t had much luck so far. But he was not ever going to give up. Magnus was miserable being a mundane, he felt so useless inside, Alec could tell. And Alec had pledged his life to making his lover happy. This was no exception.

All thoughts of Magnus and his mortality were quickly wiped from his mind, however, as the group came to an abrupt stop near the waterfront. Right there, standing on the docks, was a large group of demons, growling and hissing as they cornered a frightened mundane couple near the edge of the water. The young girls clung tight to one another, the fear in their eyes almost heart-wrenching.

The shadowhunters acted quickly. Alec jumped up on-top of a shipping container nearby and began to take out the demons one by one with his bow. Lydia lunged at the demons on the dock with her seraph blade, followed by Clary with her dual swords. Jace, Isabelle, and Simon worked on the scattered demons around the rest of the area, slowly but surly wiping them all out.

Everything was so far so good. A normal, routine mission. Nothing to be too concerned-

Alec felt the wind being knocked straight out of his lungs as a mysterious force grabbed hold of his legs and dragged him off of the shipping container and into the air. He scrambled to catch his bow, but just barely missed, watching dreadfully as it clattered onto the ground under him. The next thing he knew he was flying through the air, being thrown straight into another container a good distance away from the battle. His head slammed into the metal and he gripped it tight as he collapsed onto the blacktop, trying to will the world around him to stop spinning so fast.

When he pulled his hand away, it was coated in a thick layer of blood. He hoped the wound wasn’t too serious. Otherwise an iratze would be completely useless. Once his vision cleared, he hastily reached down into his combat boot for his stele, sighing in relief when his fingers wrapped around the cool metal. Just as he was tipping his neck to the side to start applying the rune, the stele was ripped from his grasp and flung out into the Hudson River.

When he looked up, it was to the unforgiving gaze of a middle-aged woman towering over him, her midnight blue trench coat fluttering in the wind. This wasn’t just any woman though. Familiarity suddenly hit him like a ton of bricks. This was Iris Rouse. The rogue warlock that had escaped the custody of the Clave all of those months ago. Dread filled his heart as he realized that he was about to break his promise to Magnus. The likelihood of him making it out of this mission alive was rapidly depleting. And without his stele and weapon he barely stood a chance against her at this point.

The warlock only chuckled darkly from above him. “Alexander Lightwood. Well, isn’t this mighty convenient. Wonderful, even! The most perfect opportunity to test out my latest experiment all while extracting my revenge on Bane. You are still involved with him, aren’t you?” She asked.

Alec looked up at the warlock, defiance dancing like uncontainable flames within his cobalt blue eyes. He wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of an answer, no matter what she planned to do with him. Call him petty, but what else was he to do?

Her powerful smirk quickly dropped into a displeased frown. She flicked her fingers and suddenly his airway began to constrict painfully. He clawed desperately at this throat as he struggled to breathe some air into his lungs. Soon enough they began to burn within his chest, and his vision began to fade. Just as he was bordering dangerously close to unconsciousness, a huge gust of air was sucked back into his lungs. He coughed and sputtered, trying his hardest not to puke.

Iris gripped his hair and yanked his head up to face her. He shuddered as he felt her warm breath hit his face. He spat in her face, watching amusedly as her nostrils flared in anger as his saliva dribbled down her cheek and to her jaw. She only tightened her grip in response.

“You will answer me or I will portal directly to Bane’s loft and torture the answer out of him myself,” she ordered, throwing him back onto the ground almost as if she was discarding a piece of trash. A deadly smirk then spread across her features. “I know his magic was taken by his father down in Edom. How defenseless he would be, screaming and crying out for his useless shadowhunter as I rearranged his bodily organs by hand to my satisfaction.”

Terror gripped his heart like a vice, her words ringing dreadfully in his ears. Magnus couldn’t protect himself from Iris anymore, so it was up to Alec to do that himself.

“Yes...yes, we’re still together,” he admitted.

Iris seemed pleased with his answer. She took a few steps back from him and he tried to raise himself up and away from the rogue warlock, but his strength had been drained from him when she slammed him into the container and almost suffocated him with her magic. He could only watch helplessly as a flutter of sparks wove their way between her spread fingers, quietly chanting the words to a spell in another old, demonic language. Dark magic, of course.

She threw her palms face-up into the sky as a blinding white light flashed before his eyes. He felt himself begin to fade away into the darkness.

‘ _Is this what it’s like to die_?’ he thought to himself.

Just before he lost consciousness, he murmured a loving goodbye to his fiancé back at home. His last thought was a prayer for Magnus’ forgiveness.

 

 

 

 


	2. Parabatai Gone

“Ow! Why did you hit me?” Simon cried out, gently rubbing the sore area of his upper arm.

Isabelle only rolled her eyes. “Because you’re an idiot, that’s why.”

“How was I supposed to know that demon would deactivate my blade?”

Jace pinched the bridge of his nose and leveled Simon with an exasperated look. “Because if you had payed even half attention to your demonic studies, you would have realized that it was a Behemoth. Their slime renders our blades ineffective.”

Realization dawned over Simon’s face as he looked down at his shoes in what was most likely shame and embarrassment. They didn’t have much time to dwell on it, however, because Jace began to feel something shifting in his parabatai rune. He gasped and clutched onto it, feeling some sort of change within the bond.

Everyone immediately noticed this and suddenly it dawned on the entire group that Alec was nowhere in sight. Isabelle began to look around the area frantically, searching between shipping containers and bushes, calling out her brother’s name in desperation. The rest of the group followed, covering every area that Isabelle missed within her panic.

It wasn’t that Alec was in danger, per say. But something felt really off. He had felt a flash of fear fill the bond before it suddenly halted, leaving behind a sickening feeling in the pit of Jace’s stomach. It felt as if someone or something had altered his and Alec’s bond somehow. It was unlike anything he’d ever felt or heard of.

Well, that wasn’t entirely true. He had felt subtle changes to their bond as time progressed. Like when Alec experienced big changes in his life, Jace could feel the bond shift. It adjusted to the parabatai as they grew and changed as people. Like when Alec had abandoned his wedding and kissed Magnus at the aisle. He felt the bond grow stronger as it was flooded with love and self-acceptance.

Or when Alec had sex with Magnus for the first time. He had felt a shift within the bond then too. It grew even stronger as it was flooded with self-confidence and overwhelming amounts of trust. It was how Jace knew what had happened, after all. It wasn’t because he could feel what Alec was doing. It was because the bond experienced the intense feelings that resulted from what he had done. Thank Raziel.

But this change was very different and unsettling. It didn’t come with any sort of monumental feelings and experiences. It was almost like the bond had shifted to fit with a totally different person. He still knew that it was Alec he was bonded to, of course. But it felt as if Alec himself had been physically altered somehow.

So, yeah. This was definitely unheard of.

It wasn’t long before Clary called out for the rest of the group and they arrived to find her kneeling behind one of the containers, Alec’s abandoned bow lying at their feet. That’s when the panic truly began to settle in. A shadowhunter without a weapon during a mission was a shadowhunter that could be considered as good as dead. The group began an extensive search of the waterfront, making sure not to leave a single corner untouched.

“Guys! You better get over here!” Lydia shouted from somewhere between the numerous containers. Jace did his best to follow the direction the voice came from. By the time he found her, the rest of the group had already arrived, hovering over something next to one of the units.

Jace pushed his way between Isabelle and Clary to get a look at what they were staring at for himself. There, lying right at their feet, was an unconscious woman. She was collapsed half on her side and half on her stomach on the blacktop. Her face was buried in the junction of her elbow and her thick, wavy black hair cascaded all around her shoulders and mid-back. She was dressed in a pair of oversized denim jeans, a baggy black t-shirt, and a huge leather jacket. He was a little surprised that she’d managed to even move around in those clothes at all. The pants looked like they would slip right off of her when she walked.

“Do you think she was one of the mundanes that got attacked?” Clary asked to no one in particular.

Jace shook his head. Something felt...strange, about this girl. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but it was there. He felt some sort of connection to her. Which only confused the hell out of him, seeing as he’d not once seen this girl before in his entire life.

“Well, no matter who she is, we can’t just leave her here for a demon to stumble upon. Jace, help me carry her,” Lydia ordered as she knelt down next to the unconscious mundane and pushed her onto her back to get a better grip.

The entirety of the group went completely still.

This girl wasn’t a mundane at all. She was most definitely a shadowhunter. The runes decorating her smooth, ivory skin all the evidence they needed for confirmation of the fact. This only left more questions and confusion in its wake.

“I’ve never seen this woman before, and I know every single shadowhunter that resides at the New York Institute,” Lydia murmured, inspecting the girl for further clues. She began to dig around through the pockets of her clothes.

“Maybe she’s a visiting shadowhunter from another institute?” Simon suggested, crossing his arms over his chest as he surveyed their surroundings, still running high on adrenaline from the previous battle. Most of them still were.

Suddenly, Lydia went rigid, frozen in place as she pulled something out from one of the side pockets on the woman’s leather jacket.

Everyone peered over her shoulder to see what caused such a reaction. And they all gaped down in shock at what Lydia was clutching in her palm.

It was one of Magnus’ many silver ear cuffs. Specifically, the one Magnus gifted Alec to take with him on missions. To ground him and remind him that he had a loving boyfriend at home awaiting his safe return. To make Alec think twice before doing something stupid and risky that he wouldn’t have cared to do before he’d met Magnus.

There was no way in hell Alec would have let anyone take this from him without a fight.

Lydia slid the ear cuff into her own jacket, knowing that once they got Alec back (and they _were_ going to get him back) that he’d be devastated if anything had happened to the piece of jewelry. It had grown to mean a lot to him over the past few months. Jace almost wanted to take it from her, to hold onto it himself so he could make sure that Alec got it back. But he trusted Lydia, he had no doubt that she would keep it safe for his brother.

Isabelle worried at her lower lip and her eyes began to fill to the brim with rage and terror alike. “We have to bring her in for interrogation. She must know something about Alec’s disappearance,” she said, already reaching down into Lydia’s bag to produce the set of enchanted handcuffs buried inside.

Jace began to suspect something completely different. It sounded crazy, perhaps totally insane, but it was a possibility that kept tugging at his mind. He had to be sure, just in case. The last thing anyone needed right now was another Valentine/Magnus incident going on in the interrogation rooms again.

He pushed the other shadowhunters aside and knelt down next to the woman on the ground. He lifted up her shirt, much to the rest of the groups’ protest. He ignored them, and pushed the fabric up until it was bunched up just below her breasts. He saw the parabatai rune on her skin and slowly reached out to touch it. When he did, he felt a connection to this woman in ways he shouldn’t have. He’d only ever felt these kinds of feelings with-

“Alec!” Jace gasped, a hand flying to his own rune in shock.

~~~

Magnus was already worried out of his mind when he got the call.

He was pacing his living room in a total frenzy. The awful feeling that had developed deep inside his chest after Alec told him about the mission this morning had increased tenfold, and he just couldn’t take it anymore. He was close to tears, almost choking on them with the effort to keep it all contained as he waited for his shadowhunter to walk through the front door, safe and sound.

His phone began to ring from the back pocket of his leather pants and he yanked it out so fast he almost dropped it onto the floor. His heart almost shattered when he saw that the caller ID was Isabelle. Not Alec. That could only mean one thing. Alec was injured...or worse.

“What’s going on?” He breathed out slowly as a greeting, almost not even wanting her to answer.

He could hear her heavy breathing as the phone stood silent for awhile. “It’s...Alec?” She said, almost as if asking him a question.

Magnus was only left feeling more confused. “What are you taking about, Isabelle? What’s happened to Alexander? Is he...” Magnus trailed off, throat constricting with too many tears to finish that thought.

She released a frustrated breath. This was probably the first time Magnus had ever heard Isabelle Lightwood, of all people, at a loss for words. “No, he’s got a few injuries but nothing too huge. But he’s...well...you’re just gonna have to see for yourself because you won’t believe it unless you do. We’ll be there in twenty, okay?” She reassured, the line going dead before he could get in another word.

He stared down at his phone, dumbfounded. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of the situation. Isabelle wasn’t frantic or in tears so that was good news. So what else could have happened that caused such a problem?

Regret was spreading through him like wildfire. He shouldn’t have let Alec go on the mission. Granted, he couldn’t exactly force the shadowhunter to stay home or behind his desk, especially since his magic had been taken. But he could’ve at least begged harder. Clung onto his leg like a child and refused to let go. Or better yet, insist on attending. That would most certainly make Alec stay home. Now that his magic was gone, he was totally defenseless. A demon could easily rip him in half if it so pleased. He was not afraid to play dirty if it meant keeping his fiancé safe.

He decided to busy himself by gathering up some of the medical supplies he had acquired over the past few months from his bathroom. Isabelle had said that Alec was okay, but that he’d still received some injuries. He may not be a warlock anymore, but he refused to be useless. He was going to help his darling angel in any way he was able.

He had just finished brewing a pot of honey flavored tea when he heard the shadowhunters fling his front door open. They were probably going to break it right off the hinges one of these days. He really did need to get around to buying a lock for that thing. Never thought he’d see the day he would even need one until now. The sorrow and emptiness hit him like a freight train again, as it always did when he thought of his revoked power.

Focus, Magnus.

He spun around and hurried out into the living room, where the entire group stood waiting. They were all coated in blood and ichor, no doubt staining his priceless Persian rug below their boots and shoes. At the moment, he couldn’t care less. His angel was the only thing on his mind, but Alexander was nowhere to be seen.

“Where is he?” He demanded.

Almost the entire group began to fidget nervously. Finally, they stepped out of the way to reveal Jace, holding some random, unconscious woman in his arms. She was flung over his shoulder, so he could only really see the lower half of her body. But she seemed to be pretty tall. Not as tall as himself, of course, but taller than most women usually were.

“Who is this?” He asked, maybe a bit too harshly. At this point he was just so confused that he was beginning to get frustrated.

Nobody answered, go figure. But Jace turned around and gently lowered the girl down onto his couch. Now he had a better view of her. She was undoubtedly one of the most mesmerizing women he’d ever layed eyes upon. Thick dark hair, long eyelashes, plump lips, and a body that a lot of other women would probably kill for. Although, she held a sense of familiarity to her that he couldn’t quite place.

Again, focus Magnus.

She was obviously a shadowhunter, judging from the numerous runes etched across her otherwise flawless skin. There was one in particular that immediately caught his attention though. It was the deflect rune. But it wasn’t so much the rune itself as it was the location of said rune. It was drawn across the side of her neck. What looked to be in the exact same spot that Alexander...

He let out a choked gasp. Now that he knew what to look for, he saw many more runes in the precise locations that his fiancé’s own were. He knew them all by heart, for his teeth and tongue had traced every single one repetitively over the past year they’d spent together.

“No...”

He dropped to his knees in front of her and ran the back of his fingers gently across her cheek. Her breaths were strong and steady, obviously lulled into a deep, peaceful sleep. He clenched his eyes shut, forcing himself to take a few deep breaths. This couldn’t possibly be him. This couldn’t be his Alexander. But the evidence was staring him dead in the face. It was too much to ignore.

“How. Did. This. Happen?” He whispered slowly.

Isabelle approached them and sat down on the edge of the couch, pulling the woman’s- _Alec’s_ \- feet into her lap as she did. “We don’t know. One minute we were fighting the demons and the next thing we knew Alec had vanished.”

“Poof,” Simon added, making a magical gesture with this hands.

If Magnus still had his powers, there was about a 99 percent chance that he would turn that boy into a toad. But then again, it might get slime all over his floors. Perhaps a squirrel?

Fingers snapped in front of his face. “Magnus! Pay attention!” Isabelle glared from her place at Alexander’s feet.

He muttered out a quick apology and pulled out his phone, texting Cat to come over to the loft asap. Once again, Magnus found himself wishing he wasn’t so useless. That he had the means to fix Alec’s condition himself. He tried his best not to dwell on it, but he couldn’t help it. Having a huge part of him for the past four centuries suddenly ripped away wasn’t exactly an easy thing to get over.

He then recalled his conversation with Isabelle earlier, about how Alec had sustained some injuries from the battle. He rushed off into the kitchen to retrieve his medical supplies from the countertop. It had been so long since he had needed to use these things, but felt relieved when he realized that he still remembered some of the basics.

After conducting a thorough inspection of Alec’s body, he concluded that the most serious injury his shadowhunter had sustained was dislocated shoulder blade and a blow to the head. It wasn’t anything life-threatening, but he had to clean the wound due to the clotting and sew a few stitches into his skin. He would be sure to point those out to Cat when she arrived though, just in case his observation was incorrect. The rest of the injuries were just a litter of bruises and cuts, things that could easily heal all on their own.

After he finished tending to Alec, he retrieved the pot of tea from the kitchen along with a tray of cups and napkins. The group drank their tea in silence, settling down into the spacious living room of his and Alec’s loft. Magnus was leaning his head against the back of the sofa, Alec’s head in his lap as he gently carded his fingers through his scalp. Just as he was on the brink of sleep, however, he was rudely jolted from his tranquility.

“Magnus, look!” Clary hissed at his side, pointing to where Alec rested across his lap.

He whipped his head down and began to bite at his lip, watching anxiously as bright blue orbs blinked themselves open and stared up at Magnus from below. A smile framed his...boyfriend’s? Girlfriend’s? Okay, _lover’s_ face as Alec stared up at the man leaning over him.

“Hey, Mags,” he softly sighed, staring up at his lover as if he was the only thing in the world that had and ever could matter.

It barely took even a second for Alec’s smile to drop though, as his normally smooth, deep voice rang out soft and feminine instead through his own ears.

 

 


	3. Shopping: The Solution To Pretty Much Everything

As Alec began to regain his consciousness, he was a little confused when he felt the soft, plushness underneath his back instead of the harsh, unforgiving concrete out by the waterfront. His team must have found him then, he concluded.

He blinked his eyes open slowly, the room coming into focus as he did. He was finally back home. Alec looked up and was met with the eyes of his beloved, staring down at him with a relieved smile on his face. His eyes told a different story, the deep brown orbs swirling with anxiety. Alec couldn’t help but feel his heart swell as he looked up at him.

“Hey, Mags,” he whispered, smiling up at his fiancé happily.

His smile instantly vanished. The words that rang out throughout the living room didn’t belong to him. They couldn’t have. This voice was light and feminine. Where as his own voice was deep and masculine. Maybe Isabelle had beat him to the punch. Or perhaps Clary? Lydia?

He rose up from his place on Magnus’ lap and pulled his feet away from Isabelle, looking around the room silently. All of his team was either sitting in living chairs or standing against the walls, all of their attention directed at him and him alone. That was pretty worrying. He drew his knees up to his chest, and was startled at what he felt. Were those... _breasts_?

“What the hell?!” He exclaimed, jerking back so hard that he fell off the couch and onto the hardwood floor.

Alec was bombarded with another wave of shock as yet again the voice that spoke his words wasn’t his own. He then recalled his final moments back on the waterfront, watching helplessly as Iris Rouse had begun to cast a spell upon him. Dread consumed his entire body, but his mind refused to put together the puzzle pieces. Almost scared to.

He felt a dull throbbing at the back of his head and he remembered hitting it against the shipping unit. His fingers reached up to feel it, to see if it was still bleeding or if it had already been repaired. When he touched his head, he felt a few stitches sewn into his skin. That wasn’t all he’d felt though. The hair he came into contact with was thicker, and much longer than his own. He carded his fingers through it, all the way down to where it ended at his mid-back.

“No no no no,” he murmured, springing up from the floor and racing into the bathroom. He had to hold his pants up to his waist the whole way, otherwise they would have dropped right down to his ankles. He slammed the door shut behind him and whirled around to face the floor-length mirror next to the shower. The reflection staring back at him caused his jaw to drop.

The person in the mirror was not him at all. It was a tall, petite woman around the same age. He felt a tinge of recognition though, as he continued to study her. She had a lot of the same features as himself, but much more toned down. Softer, even. Her nose was smaller, her lips fuller, her eyelashes longer, her eyebrows thinner, and her cheekbones more prominent. He slowly moved a hand up to touch her face, staring at the reflection in the mirror as it did the same. The only part of her face that was identical to his was the bright blue eyes staring back at him in shock.

As his gaze trailed down her body, he realized that it was far more different from his own than his face was. She was still pretty tall, but stood about five inches shorter than his normal 6’3 stance. Her body was slimmer, more fragile-looking than his. Not that she looked very fragile, judging from the angelic runes decorating her skin and the muscles on her arms. Even those were completely different. His muscles were larger than hers, almost bulging. But this woman’s were smaller and gentler. More subtle, but still noticeable.

The biggest difference he saw was his chest. Instead of the flat expanse of torso he was accustomed to seeing, he saw slim hips and full breasts. They were bigger than he would have liked, but not overly so. They were probably about a size larger that Isabelle’s.

He was going to kill Iris.

...just, as soon as these huge balls of fat sitting on his chest stopped hurting his back.

Alec held his pants up as he exited the bathroom, not wanting to catch a glimpse of his dickless pelvis. He wasn’t quite ready to see that yet. He still needed time.

Once he stepped back into the living room, he noticed that Simon, Lydia, and Jace were gone. That caused his heart to twist painfully inside his chest. Did Jace leave because he felt too weirded out by the situation? Or worse, repulsed? Angel, he hoped not. He couldn’t stand not having his parabatai in his corner at a time like this.

Everyone left in the living room turned around at the sound of his footsteps approaching from the hall. They stared silently, either because they were anxious or at a complete loss for words.

“I need clothes,” he simply stated, turning a blind eye to the elephant in the room.

Magnus raised a single eyebrow. “Darling, you’re already wearing clothes,” he replied, a small, affectionate smile forming on his pretty pink lips.

Alec shook his head. “No. I need clothes that _fit_. I can’t go hunting wearing jeans that drop to my ankles every time I walk.”

His sister leveled him with a look. She approached him slowly, almost as if coming up on a baby deer. “ _Alec_. We’ve already finished up the mission. Just take it easy today, okay big brother?”

He pursed his lips and ignored her suggestion entirely. He walked right past her and up to Clary, who was sitting on the arm rest of a chair pushed up against the wall next to the balcony. With the kindest, most pleading smile he could muster, he moved to stand at her side, looking down at her as he did.

“Clary. Could I please borrow some of your clothes?” He asked, hoping like hell that she’d help him out.

Clary tilted her head. “Why not Isabelle’s? She _is_ your sister.”

Alec let out an exasperated breath. Why did she always have to ask so many questions? “I can’t wear her clothes.”

Isabelle crossed her arms over her chest and cocked her hip to the side. “And why the hell not?” She asked sharply, almost offended.

He winced and leaned back against the wall, hoping his sister wouldn’t take his next reply the wrong way. He took a deep breath and just decided to come out with it. Best to get his inevitable death over with as swiftly as possible. “Your clothes are just a bit too...revealing, for me,” he said slowly, curling in on himself in self-defense.

He was so dead.

Isabelle’s eyes narrowed. “Are you calling me a slut?” She snapped, fists clenching at her sides as she practically dared him to confirm her suspicions with her eyes.

Yup, she took it the wrong way.

His head shook frantically, desperate to make her understand so he could possibly live through the night. “No! Not at all, I swear! It’s just that your clothes...aren’t exactly within my comfort zone of things to wear,” he replied, words laced with caution.

At that, thankfully, Isabelle relaxed. She gave him a look of understanding and sat down on the couch next to Magnus. “Okay. I guess I can understand that,” she smiled, straightening out the wrinkles on her sleeveless maroon-colored mini dress as she did.

He turned back to Clary. “Well, can I borrow something from you?” He repeated.

Clary bit her lip and eyed him up and down. “Well...I would. But from looking at you I don’t really think that my clothes are big enough to fit you. You seem to be a couple sizes larger than me,” she explained.

He honesty hadn’t even thought about that. He groaned as he plopped back down on the couch in defeat, sick of holding the pants up around his waist. Magnus reached down and laced their fingers together, his thumb stroking his hand in a soothing gesture.

“Why do you need clothes right this minute anyways? You’re at home,” Clary piped up from across the room.

“Because I’m going to go hunt down Iris Rouse,” he replied easily, as if it was he most obvious thing in the world.

The room went still, all eyes staring at him in confusion. Isabelle was the one to break the tension. “And why exactly do you want to do that?”

He began to fiddle with the hem of his shirt. It was a habit of his he picked up a long time ago for when he got nervous. He knew that if he told them, they wouldn’t let him go. At least, not alone. But this was something he needed to handle. He didn’t want to drag his friends and family into his mess.

But, he loved them to the moon and back. So he couldn’t bring himself to lie to them. “She did this to me,” he admitted hesitantly.

The entire room immediately erupted like a molten volcano with outrage and questions. He couldn’t keep track of them all. So he just sat back and waited patiently for everyone to calm down. Once the room went quiet again, he nodded at Magnus to go first.

“How? _Why_?” His fiancé asked, encasing the palm he’d been grasping with both of his ringed hands.

Alec shook his head. He wanted to know that himself. “I have no idea. All she said was that she wanted revenge on you.”

Before Magnus had the chance to reply, Isabelle butted in. “Even so, you can’t go after her alone. She’s too powerful,” she reprimanded, going into protective little sister mode almost instantly.

Alec didn’t bother to reply to that. He knew it would only cause an argument that would never get anywhere, so he turned back to his fiancé and squeezed one of his hands. “Regardless, I still want some clothes that I don’t have to hold up to keep on.”

“We could always go shopping. After all, it is the solution to pretty much everything,” Magnus suggested. His voice sounded indifferent, but Alec could tell from the spark in his eyes that he was eager to do so.

Shopping...ew.

He knew he was doomed when his little sister launched up like a rocket from her seat on the other side of his boyfriend. “That’s a great idea, Magnus! I’ll go find Alec a belt and then we can be on our way,” she announced as she spun around on her heel and took off into their shared bedroom.

Alec threw his head against the back of the couch and groaned. He stared accusingly at his fiancé, who was looking anywhere except for at him. “You did that on purpose,” he grimaced.

The other man’s lips quirked up into a smirk. “Maybe.”

Alec huffed and jerked his hand out of Magnus’, turning away from him and crossing his arms stubbornly over his chest. Magnus let out a small noise of protest and tried to reach for his hand again, but Alec wouldn’t relent. He scooted further away from him until his hip hit the armrest on the couch. Magnus sighed.

“Darling?”

Silence.

“Sweet pea?”

Silence.

“Angel?”

Silence. A pause.

“Princess?”

Alec whipped around to face the smug look on his fiancé’s face so fast it nearly gave him whiplash. “Ex _cuse_  me?” He spat out, icy venom lacing his words.

Magnus just blew him a kiss and ran after Isabelle in the bedroom.

Alec growled and took off after him. As he went over the threshold of the door he was swept off of his feet. Literally. Magnus had been waiting off to the side and swooped in the moment Alec came through, scooping him up into his arms and holding him close. Alec squirmed around in his hold, trying and failing to get himself down.

“Magnus Bane! Let me down right now!” He yelled as he continued to kick and squirm.

His fiancé only laughed in response, leaning his head to the side and pressing light butterfly kisses all over Alec’s neck. It didn’t take long after that for him to stop struggling and smile at the sweet ministrations. That is, until someone cleared their throat a bit too dramatically.

The couple turned around to see Isabelle standing right in front of them, a smirk on her face and a belt in her hand. “As cute as this is, we have a date with the mall we need to get to.”

Magnus hummed in agreement while Alec only groaned. He fixed them both with a pleading gaze. “Can we please just pick up some t-shirts and jeans from a department store and call it a day?”

Isabelle and Magnus shared a look, both smiling wide as they spoke in perfect unison. “Nope!”

Alec sighed against his fiancé’s shoulder. This was going to be an excruciatingly long morning.


	4. Got Myself A Beauty Queen

“How about this one?” Isabelle exclaimed from one of the circular racks of clothes, pulling out some kind of pink, lacy tank top. Alec wanted nothing more than to set it on fire.

“How about no,” he deadpanned, thumping his head against the wall behind him. Raziel, why couldn’t they just put him out of his misery? He was halfway convinced that his fiancé and his little sister were put on this earth just for the sole purpose of torturing him. Had to be.

Magnus hummed from where he was bent over a bin of clothes marked as half off. He’d been digging around in it for quite awhile now. “Isabelle, dear, as much as I hate to say this, I don’t think we’re going to be able to convince Alexander to wear anything that’s not dark and depressing,” he called out over his shoulder.

Alec rolled his eyes. “I hunt demons for a living, Magnus. I can’t exactly blend into the shadows if I’m sporting lacy pink tops and frilly mini skirts,” he shot back, crossing his arms as he did so.

“Excuses, excuses, princess!” Magnus shouted back, grinning in triumph as he pulled out some sort of black top from the bin.

Alec clenched his hands into fists. “By the angel, Magnus! If you call me that _one more time_ -“

He was interrupted by a ringing phone at his side. The sound was coming from Clary’s jacket. The redhead popped up from where she’d been scouring a shelf piled high with high heels and bounced over to the bench. She dug through one of the pockets and put the phone to her ear.

“Hey, Jace!” She greeted brightly.

Jace. He’d been able to push the blonde shadowhunter to the back of his mind since he left the loft this morning, but now he was reminded of it yet again. Raziel, he hoped they were okay. That his parabatai wasn’t purposely avoiding him because of this.

“Yeah, we left a few hours ago. We’re out shopping right now. I’ll text you the address,” Clary said right before she ended the call, carelessly tossing the device onto her jacket and returning to what she’d been doing before.

Alec tried to ignore the uneasy feeling climbing its way up his throat, but he just couldn’t. Jace was his parabatai. His best friend. His brother. He needed him to be on his side for this one. Being on different sides had practically ripped them both apart before. They couldn’t do it again. Alec knew he wouldn’t survive it.

He was jolted from his thoughts by something black and lacy smacked him dead in the face. He yelped and stared at the piece of clothing as it landed on his lap. Magnus was cackling from one of the racks of clothes, holding an empty hanger in his hand and shooting him an innocent smile.

“Try this one on, darling,” he ordered.

Alec picked it up and held it as if it was a ticking bomb, inspecting the blouse curiously. It wasn’t the worst thing he’d seen them throw at him so far. Maybe if he tried it on it would shut them up for a few minutes.

He took it into one of the dressing rooms and slipped it on. It felt nice against his skin. Smooth and rough in all the right places. He could probably live with this. He studied it further using the mirror attached to the stall’s door. It was a long-sleeved lacy top with a solid, velvety tank top underneath. He was surprised to find that he actually _liked it_.

Not that he’d ever admit to it, of course.

He carefully folded the top and exited the dressing rooms. When he stepped back into the store Jace was sitting in his vacant spot, hands shoved in his pockets and boredom lacing his expression. He looked like he would rather be anywhere in the world other than here. Alec couldn’t help but agree.

“Jace,” he greeted, apprehension evident in his tone.

Relief flooded his chest as the blonde turned to him with a bright, genuine smile. His relief soon turned into exasperation as he thought about how stupid he’d been. This was _Jace_ here. Jace was beyond accustomed to weird situations by now. Hell, he’d thought the girl he was in love with was his sister for a hot minute there.

“I’ll shoot you if you shoot me,” he suggested, the seriousness in his golden eyes almost laughable.

Alec didn’t even hesitate. “Deal.”

Clary shot them both a glare, suddenly appearing in front of them with a pair of lethal-looking silver pumps dangling between her fingers. “Oh man up! You two can take on a horde of ravener demons without blinking an eye but you quiver in your boots just from being in a clothing store?”

They both nodded solemnly.

Clary threw her hands up in the air in surrender, spinning back around and disappearing behind another shelf. At that moment Magnus walked over and plucked the blouse he was holding from his grasp. Excitement was dancing across his eyes.

“So?” He asked, voice filled with hope.

Alec sighed. “Well...it’s not terrible,” he admitted, cheeks burning up in shame.

Magnus threw his hands up in the air and let out a squeal. “Progress!” He cried, running off to find Isabelle and tell her all about his little victory.

Alec couldn’t help but stare after him fondly. He adored his fiancé’s energy and enthusiasm. He’d lived for hundreds of centuries, endured countless wars and economic crashes. Yet he still got excited about the mere aspect of finding a pretty top for Alec to wear. It made the younger love him that much more.

“I have a lead on Iris,” Jace announced, staring down at his phone intently.

Alec raised an eyebrow. “How did you know it was her?”

“Clary.”

Of course.

“What’s the lead?”

Jace tossed him his phone. Alec caught it with practiced accuracy. He tapped on the screen and it opened up to a string off messages between him and Catarina. Alec didn’t know Jace even had her number, much less spoke to her outside of a professional setting. He skimmed the conversation until his eyes settled in what Jace obviously wanted him to see.

“Madzie,” he sighed, shutting his eyes tightly and handing the phone back to his brother.

“Yes. She still has some kind of locket that Iris gifted her for her fourth birthday. It’s magically enhanced to give Madzie extra energy for her magic. We can use it to track her,” he explained, dropping the phone back into his pocket and turning around to face Alec as he spoke.

Alec wasn’t as convinced of this plan. “I really don’t like using Madzie to find her mother. Angel knows the girl has been used far too much already,” he frowned.

“Madzie herself agreed to the tracking.”

Alec merely raised an eyebrow. Why would Madzie agree to tracking down her own mother to face punishment and possible execution? That woman had raised her since birth. It didn’t seem likely for Madzie to just turn on her so easily.

Jace nodded. “Iris may have loved Madzie, but she never did a good job at showing it. She only ever really payed her attention when it involved enhancing her abilities. Catarina has been more of a mother to Madzie this past year than Iris was for every other year before that,” Jace explained.

That...made a lot more sense. He knew that Catarina would do good by Madzie, but he hadn’t realized just how true that fact was until now. He was beyond happy for the little girl. She deserved to have a parent that cared more about who she was as a person than what she could do as a warlock.

“Let’s go,” Alec said, already slipping his jacket on and hopping up from the bench.

Jace only laughed. “Alec. Slow down, buddy. Madzie is at school right now. We have to wait,” he reasoned, crossing his legs and relaxing further into his seat.

All Alec could feel was disappointment. He was tired of waiting. He hated this body. He wanted nothing more than to be back in his own. So his patience had been wearing pretty thin since this morning. He wanted to just go ahead and hunt the woman down. The longer it took to find her,  
the longer it took to get back into his own skin.

Jace could sense his frustration, either because of the bond or because he just knew him that well, because he clasped a hand to his shoulder and shook him playfully. “Alec. _Relax_. We’ll find her. I promise,” he swore, determination hard set in his eyes.

Alec did relax then. Jace seemed to always know the right thing to say to make him feel better. He patted the hand on his shoulder affectionately before plopping back down next to his brother. He had every intention of spending the rest of this stupid shopping trip sitting right there. His friends had other plans for him though, apparently.

Magnus, Clary, and Isabelle all simultaneously appeared right in front of the pair of parabatai. Before Alec even had time to blink, the three had grabbed him, yanked him out of his seat, and dragged him away from his sanctuary. He was devastated.

“What is wrong with you?” He growled, yanking himself free of their hands.

Clary spoke first. “We were all talking and decided that you needed to stop being so lazy and get involved.”

His eyes narrowed in on her. He didn’t have a chance to rely before his boyfriend piped up from behind him. “Come on, sweet pea. You’re missing out on all the fun!”

Alec rolled his eyes. “On what planet is this actually fun?”

He was ignored. They lead him up to the front of the store and, to his surprise, through the exit. Their arms were already filled with several bags of clothes. So maybe they were finally granting him mercy and going to take him home. One could only hope.

All of his hopes and dreams were instantly crushed like a bug when they approached the entrance of another store. With one glance inside, he halted to a stop. He spun on his heel and was getting ready to make a beeline for the emergency exit of the mall. This was assumably predicted beforehand, however, because his boyfriend reacted in record time. Magnus wrapped his arms around his waist and threw him over his shoulder.

“Put me down!” He demanded, flailing about like a fish out of water. As the entrance to the hellish store was coming closer and closer with every step Magnus took, he balled his hands into fists and began hammering away at his fiancé’s back. Magnus didn’t even so much as flinch. He would have been impressed if he wasn’t so desperate to get away.

A spark of hope flared within his chest once he spotted Jace exiting the store they were just in, searching the lobby until he spotted the group. Alec mouthed and an SOS to him, but Jace was totally unresponsive. He only stared at the sign at the entrance to the store in unabashed horror, shaking his head slowly back and forth.

“I love you, Alec! But it’s every man for himself!” He shouted across the lobby as he bolted out the automatic doors of the mall.

Traitor.

“Jace! Where are you going?” Clary called after him, turning away and sprinting after her retreating boyfriend.

The last thing he saw before he was carried inside the store was a flash of red hair racing around the mall’s fountain. Alec slammed his eyes closed, trying to will it all away. Trying to convince himself that this was all just a horrible dream. That he hadn’t just been dragged into his own personal realm of hell.

Reality’s a bitch.

Magnus dropped him back onto the ground and gripped his hand tight as Isabelle lead them to the back of the store. Alec began to struggle against his boyfriend, whining in protest when he couldn’t escape.

Isabelle turned back around once she heard the pathetic little whimpers he was making. She leveled him with a look that practically screamed ‘Are you kidding me right now?’. She cocked her hip and tilted her head. “Really, big brother? It’s just Victoria’s Secret. Not a gateway to Edom.”

“Are you sure about that?” He retorted, still trying but failing to release himself from his fiancé’s strong hold.

She rolled her eyes and began sorting through the various bra and panty sets on the tables. “These are a necessity, you know. You can’t just keep walking around with your tits flopping about in the wind,” she said as she held up a pair of silky lilac panties for inspection.

“I mean, he _could_. I wouldn’t complain.”

Isabelle grabbed an abandoned hanger off of the table and whacked Magnus upside the head with it.

“Ow!”

“ _As I was saying_ , you actually need these things. So stop with the tantrum and we can make this as quick and painless as possible,” Isabelle finished, thrusting a lacy black bra and panty set into his chest. He flinched.

There was only one thing scarier than walking around holding women’s undergarments, and that was an angry Isabelle Lightwood. So with much reluctance, he held onto the items and gritted his teeth. If this didn’t end soon, he would probably start screaming.

Magnus suddenly gasped, causing the other two to turn back to him and watch as he looked up at the roof in amazement. The siblings shot each other a questionable look. Magnus suddenly began to hum and slightly sway his hips around.

“I love this song,” he declared as he grabbed hold of Alec, spinning him around the tables with him as he went.

Alec suddenly realized that there was music playing from the speakers in the ceiling, melting into the background of the store’s atmosphere unless purposely focused on. No wonder he hadn’t noticed it at first. He kinda wished it could have remained that way.

Okay...maybe he was being a _little_ grumpy. But who wouldn’t be after having their entire biology altered and staying awake for over twenty-four hours?

Isabelle decided to join in. She began to softly sing the lyrics of the song as she continued to observe the contents of the tables surrounding them.

“Still got my dignity. No one will love you like me,” she sung while spinning around to look at another one of the tables.

“She’s prettier than I’ll ever be. Got ya’self a beauty queen, yeah!”

Magnus chose that moment to fasten his fingers around his hips and dip him. Alec yelped out in surprise and indignation. Magnus only smiled in response, pulling him up slowly and pressing a gentle kiss to the shell of his ear. Alec almost let himself get lost to the sensation of his fiancé’s lips pressing along his skin.

“I know for sure _I’ve_ got myself a beauty queen,” he murmured into his ear.

Alec smacked him upside the head.

“Ow!”

Alec strode away and back to Isabelle’s side, feeling beyond pleased with himself. He giggled softly as he caught sight of Magnus’ annoyed expression. Well, deserved, might he add.

Alec followed Isabelle around as she picked up various pieces of clothing and threw them around this way and that. She looked like a woman on a mission. That mission just so happened to be torturing her older brother by forcing him to go shopping for women’s undergarments. It was times like these that he began to wonder what it would be like if he were an only child. So...peaceful.

He abandoned the thought almost as soon as it had went through his head. He loved his sister dearly, even when she was being a nosy little pest. He couldn’t imagine a life without her. She’d always stuck by him through thick and thin. Whenever he needed her, she would always drop everything and be right by his side. She was the best little sister in the whole wide world.

Some times more than others.

They were in the store for almost half an hour, and by the time they emerged, they were carrying three extra bags full of an assortment of bras and panties. The only thing he dreaded more than wearing them was actually trying to get the weird contraptions on his body. How did women even do this stuff?

They stopped short when they saw Clary and Jace perched on the fountain across from the store. Clary looked a little too satisfied with herself while Jace looked downright annoyed. They approached the couple and sat their bags down at their feet.

“How did you catch him?” Isabelle smirked, granting Clary a look of approval.

Clary returned the glance. “I didn’t have to. There’s a park right down the street from here. Jace ran into a baby duck waddling about in the parking lot and ran right back to me with his tail between his legs.”

Everyone except Jace burst into a violent fit of laughter. It didn’t matter how many times they witnessed it, Jace’s irrational fear of ducks was funnier every time. Clary popped up from her seat and took the remaining bags from their arms and dropped them at Jace’s feet.

“Since he bailed on the shopping trip, he gets to carry all the bags,” she announced to the rest of the group.

The carrot was starting to grow on him.

“Well, you see, I would, but I’m currently stuck to a fountain,” Jace bit back sarcastically, hands gesturing down to his own thighs.

Alec raised an eyebrow. “And how exactly did that happen?”

Clary got that prideful expression back on her face. “I used one of my runes so he couldn’t escape again,” she answered for him, whipping out her stele from one of the pockets in her jeans.

She bent over the fountain and drew another rune into it, instantly releasing Jace from his hold. He shot straight up and stretched his legs, groaning as he did. Clary didn’t spare him so much as a glance before she started for the mall’s exit.

“Come on guys. Jace has got this handled,” she called back before strutting out the sliding glass doors.

Alec, Magnus, and Isabelle looked back and forth at one another before they all simply shrugged, following Clary to the parking lot and abandoning Jace with the mountain of bags at his feet.

Alec didn’t feel the least bit sorry for him. Traitors don’t deserve sympathy. 

 


	5. Kiss Me Like You Miss Me

The gang were relaxing around the loft as they waited for Catarina and Madzie to arrive. Once they’d gotten home from the shopping trip, Magnus had insisted that everyone get some rest before inviting the warlocks over. They were all overworked and under-slept, so nobody put up much of a fight They ended up sleeping away the entire afternoon and some of the evening. They weren’t fully rested when they got up, but at least they were rested enough to function properly.

Clary and Simon were sitting on the floor next to the coffee table, playing an incredibly competitive game of chess. Lydia was out on the balcony talking to Isabelle about something that seemed to be pretty serious, judging from the matching looks of concern that both women were sporting. Jace was raiding the kitchen, starving to death after not having eaten for three hours.

All that left was Magnus and Alec. The couple were cuddled up close on the sofa. Magnus was lying on his back with Alec resting on top of his chest. They were simply breathing one another in as they pretended to watch an episode of Dancing With The Stars. Secretly, they kept sneaking adoring glances at one another, feeling so in love it was almost sickening.

Alec wouldn’t have it any other way.

“What am I going to do?” He muttered against the other man’s chest.

Magnus hummed. “About what, darling?”

“I’m the head of an institute. If I’m not back tomorrow, people are going to start asking questions,” he whispered, not wanting to shatter the peaceful serenity they had created.

His fiancé sighed softly. “We’ll figure something out by tonight, Alexander,” he reassured, carding his fingers through Alec’s hair as he did so. He would be lying if he said that it didn’t help calm his nerves. Magnus always could in ways that nobody else can.

His beloved pressed an affectionate kiss against his cheek. Alec smiled as he burrowed further into Magnus’ warm embrace. He let his mind wonder for awhile, enjoying the silence that was enrapturing them. That is, until a certain question went through his head.

‘ _Why hasn’t he kissed me_?’

Alec wasn’t normally one to get overly insecure, but a single negative thought could occasionally run ramped through his mind until it was morphed into something horrible and strange. This was one of those times.

Does he not want to kiss him because of what Iris did to him? That was going to get fixed. Sooner rather than later. Alec was so not a fan of this body at all. So how could he expect Magnus to be? Sure, he’d cracked jokes and still touched him with love and affection. Then again, wasn’t that what he always did when he was faced with an uncomfortable situation? Make jokes and act indifferent to it all? Or was he doing it because he just didn’t want Alec to panic anymore than he already was? Magnus had fallen in love with a man, not this woman in his arms. Was it really fair of him to expect Magnus to treat him the same way as before?

Sure, Magnus was bisexual. And Alec had never loved and appreciated that fact as much as he did in this moment. That his fiancé’s attraction to both sexes meant that he wouldn’t shove Alec away in disgust and repulsion because of what he’d been turned into it. But that didn’t mean he had to be thrilled with the fact that he had to hold somebody and love somebody he didn’t even recognize. That his Alec, the real Alec, was nowhere in sight.

“I can hear you thinking, love,” Magnus murmured as he nosed along Alec’s jaw. Normally, such a gesture would have been welcomed with open arms. But because of the things going through his head, he couldn’t stop himself from tensing up at the feeling of it.

This, of course, did not go unnoticed by his boyfriend. Magnus instantly got serious, rising up from where they were laying and pulling Alec up with him as he went. He rearranged them so that his back was against the corner of the couch and Alec was sitting in his lap, a position where eye contact was easily achieved. It only made Alec feel that much more anxious.

Magnus stroked a thumb along his cheek. “Darling, what’s the matter?” He asked.

Alec nibbled at his lip and started fiddling with his fingers. He kept his eyes firmly glued to his hands, refusing to look Magnus in the eye when he replied. “Do you...I mean, are you still...is this because...”

Magnus let out a breathy laugh, and Alec shivered as he felt the warm breath brush across his lips. God, he wanted to kiss him so bad. It had been too long since he’d tasted his lips. But with the way it was looking now though, he would be left waiting much longer than this. He almost felt like crying. He was so going to kill Iris Rouse.

“Alexander, use your words honey. I promise I don’t bite. Unless, of course, you’d like me too,” Magnus teased, causing Alec to glance up just in time to see his fiancé send him a flirty wink.

There he goes again with the jokes and flirtations. So it really was true. Alec made him feel uncomfortable now. The shadowhunter couldn’t hold back the sob that escaped his mouth, throwing a hand over it in vain. Before Magnus could ask him anything else, he decided to go lock himself away in the bathroom.

He didn’t even make it far out of Magnus’ lap before he felt ringed fingers wrap around his wrist and pull him back down, trapping him in place. Alec knew it was no use to struggle. So he just whined lowly and buried his face in the back to the sofa.

“Alec, please talk to me. Tell me what I did. Whatever it is, I’m sorry, angel,” Magnus pleaded.

A small noise of protest escaped his throat. How could he possibly think that any of this was his fault? He hadn’t done anything wrong. Never really could, in Alec’s opinion. “Magnus, you didn’t do anything,” he whispered.

He glanced up to see Magnus’ expression. It was a mix of sadness and concern. And it was all his fault. He felt disgusted with himself. Why couldn’t he have just shut his mouth and went along with it? Magnus didn’t deserve to feel like this.

“Please tell me what’s bothering you, Alec. I only want to help,” he said.

Alec couldn’t hold it in anymore. He just wanted that look wiped completely off of Magnus’ face. He was far too beautiful to make such an expression. “Do I...am I making you uncomfortable?”

Magnus looked at him as if he’d just asked him to summon a unicorn. “What? Alexander, no! Why on earth would you even think that?” He gasped, shock apparent in his tone of voice.

“Because you...you haven’t kissed me,” he admitted, albeit pretty lamely if he did say so himself.

It sounded pathetic and needy even to his own ears.

Magnus only sighed. “Alexander. I haven’t kissed you because I didn’t want to make _you_ uncomfortable,” he explained, running his fingers through Alec’s scalp as he did so. It felt nice.

But he was still confused. Hell, that’s all he ever was anymore. “Why would you kissing me make me uncomfortable?” He asked.

“Because...I just didn’t want you to get the wrong impression. To make you think I preferred you this way instead of how you really are. Because I don’t. Yes, you’re still very beautiful. And I am still attracted to you. But I miss your normal self. I love you as a woman, but I love you even more as man,” he explained quietly, staring at Alec with nothing but certainty and love in his eyes the entire time.

Alec’s heart practically melted into a puddle right then and there. He berated himself for even thinking for a second that someone like Magnus could ever treat him with anything but love and affection. This was Magnus. _His_ Magnus. Angel, he loves this man so much it hurts.

A smile formed on his face as he leaned in close to his fiancé, so close that they were sharing the same breath. Magnus got this glazed look in his eyes that makes his heart skip a beat every time he sees it. “Well, Magnus Bane. Believe me when I tell you that I want nothing more than for you to kiss me right now,” he murmured, a rush of excitement fleeting across his chest.

Magnus chuckled lowly. “Well, Alexander Lightwood. Believe me when I tell you that I would love nothing more than to oblige to your request,” he replied, voice deep and raspy as he spoke. Alec’s breath hitched.

Magnus cupped his face and leaned in, eyes fluttering closed as their lips almost touched. Alec could just barely feel the ghost of his kiss when a loud crash sounded from the kitchen. They both jumped in their seats and whipped their heads around to get a good look inside the kitchen. Jace was standing beside one of the counters, a plate of chicken nuggets in one hand and his other dangling loosely at his side. A shattered cup sat at his feet and he just stared at it, still not comprehending the fact that he was no longer holding it.

Magnus didn’t seem to give a shit about the cup. He only growled and narrowed his eyes at the blonde. “Oh for Lilith’s sake, Jonathan! Don’t you have anything better to do than be a freaking cockblock?”

If Alec had been drinking water when he heard that, he would have definitely choked on it. He was already sputtering as it was, feeling beyond scandalized by the words that just came out of his fiancé’s mouth.

Jace bent down to pick up the shards when he replied. “Can’t exactly cockblock you, Magnus when there isn’t a cock to block,” he shot back, shooting them both his signature smirk as he did.

If Alec had his way, Jace would not be making it through the rest of the night.

It was at that moment that a portal opened up in the living room, Catarina and Madzie stepping through seconds afterwards. Catarina was still dressed to the nines in her hospital scrubs, while Madzie was wearing a denim jacket paired with a purple skirt. She held onto her adopted mother’s hand as they passed through, only letting go once the portal had vanished.

“Sorry it took so long, Magnus. Madzie was hungry when she got home,” Catarina said as she took a seat on one of the living chairs.

Magnus looked positively delighted to see her. They didn’t get many chances to see each other nowadays. “That’s quite alright, dear. Thank you for coming.”

“Of course. So is it safe to assume that the woman currently occupying your lap is Alexander?” Catarina asked.

Alec’s face flushed and he scrambled off of him quickly, folding his legs under himself instead. Magnus nodded, trying his best to hide his smirk at the reaction.

“Yeah, it’s me. So do you think you can fix this?” He asked, unable to keep the hope out of his voice as he replied.

Catarina sighed. “How I wish it were that simple. But this spell Iris has casted on you is completely new and unheard of. I believe that the only way we can work towards creating a reversal spell is to examine your physical state and recapture Iris. She’ll have more answers than I do.”

Alec could barely swallow down his disappointment. He was hoping Catarina would have another way to reverse the spell without hunting down Iris. Chasing after the rogue warlock was going to be a very involved affair. Which meant it would take that much longer for him to be back in his own body.

Catarina rose from her seat and gestured for Magnus to get up, which he did without question. She gently lead Alec to lie back down on the couch and sat down next to his hips. Blue sparks began to dance between her fingers, but she made no move towards him.

“Is this okay?” She asked.

Alec nodded. Once she had his consent, she began to move her hands all along his body, the magic she was releasing into him causing him to shiver. He wasn’t used to her magic. He was used to Magnus’. Well...when he still had his magic. But Catarina’s was completely foreign to him.

They stayed like that for awhile, Catarina inspecting different areas of his body while he tried to remain still. Her eyes were narrowed in concentration as she scanned him. It was like she was oblivious to everything around her that wasn’t him. Once she retracted her hands and stood, he visibly relaxed.

“So I know _what_ she did but not exactly _how_ she did it,” Catarina announced.

Magnus raised an eyebrow. “And what’s that, darling?”

Catarina decided to take her seat back in the living chair before launching into her explanation. “Okay. So after I evaluated him, I realized that there wasn’t really much she changed about him at all,” she began.

Alec scoffed. “Did you miss the part where I’m a totally different gender?”

Magnus shot him a glare. “Behave, princess.”

Alec only rolled his eyes in response. He’d long since given up on getting Magnus to drop the nickname.

Catarina continued. “Anyways, like I said. Not much of a change. All I could see that she mindfully altered herself was Alexander’s genitalia, chest, and hair. Now the spell she used, however, has somehow managed to change his chromosomes from xy to x. How she did it, I still can’t figure out. That’s all I know.”

Magnus sighed. He seemed to have hoped he could get more answers than that. So did Alec.

“Thank you, Cat. I appreciate your help.”

The warlock smiled. “Anything for a friend.”

Madzie stood up from where she’d been playing next to the bookshelf and approached Alec. He smiled at the little girl as she reached behind her neck and unclasped the locket she wore. She hesitated for a moment before she thrust it out to him. He slowly took the necklace from her outstretched hand, carefully depositing it in his pocket.

“Thank you, Madzie. This is a really big help,” he spoke softly.

The young warlock only nodded in reply. She started to make her way back over to Catarina when she paused, slowly turning back around to face him. She seemed to have something she wanted to say, but couldn’t find the appropriate words for it. He waited patiently.

“Please don’t lose it,” she whispered, pleading with both her voice and her eyes.

Alec gave her a reassuring smile. “I promise I’ll guard it with my life. You’ll have it back before you even know it, little sorceress.”

She giggled at the nickname and reached up to hold Catarina’s hand. The warlocks quickly said their goodbyes and disappeared through another portal after. Alec yanked his stele out of his boot, drawing the tracking rune on his hand and clasping the locket tightly in his hand. He concentrated on it as hard as he could, but nothing was showing up.

“Jace!” He called.

His parabatai knew exactly what he needed. He took Alec’s stele and drew the rune on his own hand. They clasped the locket through their joined hands and worked on the tracking together. It only took a little over a minute to find what they were looking for. Alec dropped the locket back into his pocket and the stele back in his boot.

“Well?” Clary piped up from across the room, completely ignoring the game of chess she’d been enraptured with before. He’d almost forgot they were even there.

“We have a location,” Alec announced, making his way into the bedroom to gear up.

 


	6. The Hunt Begins

“Alexander...please. Be _careful_. I need you home tonight,” Magnus pleaded, leaning down and kissing his forehead softly.

Alec reached for his hand and brought it to his lips, brushing them across the knuckles. “I promise. I’ll be home before you know it.”

They wrapped their arms around one another and breathed each other in, relishing in their lover’s scent. The moment was ruined when Jace walked into the room.

“Okay lovebirds, break it up. We gotta get going,” he declared. “Wait. Alec, why aren’t you dressed yet?!”

If looks could kill, the one Magnus was currently shooting at Jace would have set him on fire. Alec sighed and shooed Magnus out of the bedroom. He had been dreading this moment all day. He glared daggers at his side of the closet.

He slowly approached his dresser. It was filled with the weird contraptions they had bought that morning. He really didn’t want to wear them. But these things on his chest had been flopping around all day and it was beyond irritating at this point.

He reached inside one of the drawers and pulled out a heap of the undergarments. They all spilled out onto the carpet, and he bent down to begin his inspection. There were many of them that he knew for sure he was never gonna wear. So he sorted the clothes into two different piles. Pile A consisted of the ones he wanted to throw over the balcony, and Pile B consisted of the ones he didn’t hate too badly. So far so good.

Alec kicked Pile A out of his line of sight and began to sort his way through Pile B. He was trying to find a pair of these things that actually made sense. How was he supposed to be expected to put these on? He could barely work a belt. Much less a medieval torture device.

Finally, his fingers brushed across a much simpler pair. They were totally plain. Nothing special or weird about them whatsoever. Straight to the point. Much like himself. These he could deal with. The bra and panty set felt amazing, the midnight blue satin rubbed between his fingertips delicately. Yes. These.

He made quick work of his clothes, unceremoniously tossing them behind his shoulder. He slid his boxer shorts down his legs and kicked them away, replacing them with the pair of panties. It felt kinda weird, but he supposed it was just because he wasn’t used to wearing them. The panties were easy enough to slip on. But as he stared down at the silky contraption in his hands, he scowled.

How did this thing work? Was there some kind of button he was supposed to press? A lever of sorts?

As he began to debate the logistics of the female bra, the closet doors swung open dramatically. He screeched and pulled the bra up to cover his...fat balls. Yeah. No way in hell he was ever going to call them-

“Need some help?” The carrot asked.

Alec glared at her. “Why are you in here? Those doors were closed for a reason.”

Clary slid them closed again and plucked the bra from his hands. He let out a cry of indignation and covered his fat balls with his palms. What was her _problem_?

“I knew you’d have no idea how to put this thing on. Figured you needed some assistance,” she explained while turning him around so that his back was to her.

Before she had the chance to toss his hair out of the way he peered at her over his shoulder. “And why are you helping me? Why couldn’t Izzy or Magnus do it? You and I aren’t exactly best friends.”

She took his hair and ordered him to hold it on top of his head. He did as he was told. He may have been complaining out loud, but inside he was beyond grateful to have someone with expertise helping him with this thing. It made him feel a little less overwhelmed.

“Well, I was the best candidate. I’m pretty sure you don’t want your little sister to be in the same room as you when you’re naked, Magnus would probably just drool all over the thing the whole time, and Jace and Simon are totally useless in this aspect. So here I am,” she elaborated as she helped him slide the straps over his arms.

She...had a point.

“Fair enough,” he replied as he piled his hair back on-top of his head.

They went silent after that. She fiddled with the bra for a minute, making sure it was adjusted in all of the right places. Then she pulled the straps back and began to do something with them from behind him. Probably magic.

“Okay, so these hooks in the back are supposed to connect with the little bar looking things on the other side. You need to use the row that fits best. You don’t want to pull it too tight but don’t leave it so loose your boobs still flop around either. So for you, the third row is what you need to go for on this one,” the carrot said.

He nodded along as she spoke, pretending that he understood everything she was saying. He did, at first, but he knew that once he was by himself he would be just as helpless as before.

“Done,” Clary announced. She spun him around to face her and the bra miraculously didn’t fall off. It wasn’t the most comfortable thing in the world, but it felt much better than having the fat balls flop around everywhere. She was a miracle worker.

“Thanks, carrot.”

She laughed. “Nicknames! Progress!” she cried in triumph before exiting the closet and going back into the living room.

The rest of the process went by much smoothly after that. He knew how clothes worked, so that wasn’t an issue. He decided to wear a plain black tank top under a fitted leather jacket, zipping it up all the way to his collarbone. He pulled on a pair of dark denim jeans and some black combat boots that reached up to his mid-calf. He ended up calling Clary back into the room to help him tie his hair up into a ponytail. That way, it wouldn’t get in the way of his line of sight.

After the dressing process was over with, he finally geared up. He pulled on his weapons belt and filled it to the brim with seraph daggers, a pair of handcuffs, and his stele. He slid his seraph blade into his thigh holster and his quiver of arrows across his back. With a single once-over in the mirror he grabbed his bow and went out into the living room.

The rest of his team stood waiting by the door, geared up and eager to book it. Before he could join him, Magnus pulled him into his embrace. Alec sighed against his neck and held him tight. A pair of lips brushed across his earlobe.

“I mean it. Come home,” he whispered.

Alec pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. “Always.”

~~~

The gang stuck to the shadows as they approached the abandoned church. It was one of the larger ones, towering over many of the other buildings in the area. The door was hanging off of its hinges and almost every single window was shattered. To top it all off, a thick layer of dust and cobwebs coated almost every inch of the building.

There better not be any spiders.

“Are you sure this is it? It looks empty,” Lydia whispered from where she was crouching against a fire hydrant, back pressed into it almost painfully.

Both Alec and Jace nodded. Unless she’d moved locations, this was where Iris Rouse was. For some reason. Alec wasn’t sure if it was for extra cover or for theatrics. The place looked incredibly dreary. Out of all the places in the world for her to escape to, why would she remain in New York?

He didn’t know the answer, but he was about to find out.

They surrounded the building from all sides. When Alec gave the signal, they swarmed the building and burst through the door.

The church was seemingly empty. Not even a rat in sight. Completely lifeless. The floor was coated in dirt and grime, the walls littered with elaborate graffiti, and the pews had all kinds of abandoned items all along them; everything from soda cans and beer bottles to ruined books. The place was totally trashed.

Everyone got into pairs and began their investigations. Alec and Lydia searched between and underneath all of the pews. Clary and Jace took off outside to inspect the graveyard in the back. Isabelle and Simon climbed the steps of the podium and looked around the furniture.

Alec had barely finished with the third row on the right side of the church when he heard a scream and saw something whirling past his head in his peripheral vision. His head shot up to the podium.

“Simon!” Isabelle cried.

She didn’t have much time to dwell on his well-being because Iris popped out from behind the dusty piano in the back and launched her attack. Isabelle swerved this way and that to avoid the blasts of magical energy that was thrown her way. She had to remain on the defense for now, since Iris had used the element of surprise to her advantage.

Alec spun around to face Lydia. “Go help Izzy! I’ve got Simon,” he ordered.

Lydia whipped out her seraph blade and ran into the battle up ahead. Alec darted around the pews and out the now door-less front entrance. He climbed down the stone steps of the church and over to where Simon lied on the grass.

Alec slid down next to him and rolled the boy onto his back. His eyes were spinning and he couldn’t seem to lift his head, try as he might. The injuries didn’t look very serious, so Alec quickly applied an iratze to his shoulder and yanked him up.

“We have to go help the others, come on!”

Simon stumbled after him but didn’t make it very far. He collapsed back into the grass with a pained groan. His sight was still all out of wack. Alec made an impatient noise in the back of his throat and crouched back down. He yanked Simon’s shirt up and used his stele to activate the clarity rune on his hip.

The response was instantaneous. Simon shook his head as if to clear it and yanked his seraph blade out of its holster. The pair of shadowhunters ran back inside the church to rejoin the fight.

Jace and Lydia were in the midst of battle with Iris on the podium. Jace was going at the warlock full force, swinging his blade at her with short, powerful blows. Iris managed to dodge each one with ease. Lydia was crouched down and walking around a sofa, looking for a strong point of attack that wouldn’t endanger Jace.

Isabelle was sprawled out on the stairs leading up to the podium, breathing in and out carefully as Clary bent over her leg and applied a series of iratzes. The fabric of her pants on her right leg was cut open with such precision that Alec knew that Clary had to have ripped it open to get to the injury.

Alec signaled for Simon to go help Lydia and Jace fight Iris as he rushed over to his sister’s side. He brushed the stray hairs back from her forehead and smiled as she leaned into the touch.

“Alec,” she whimpered, reaching up for him.

He instantly wrapped her up in his embrace, holding her close as he kept an eye on the battle above. Lydia was stumbling back against the piano, clutching at her stomach and hissing in pain as she pulled out her stele. Jace and Simon were dodging some attacks from Iris, forced back on the defensive.

“What happened?” He asked Clary, who was currently groaning out her frustrations as all of the iratzes she was applying failed.

“I think it’s broken. The runes aren’t doing anything,” she answered. “We need to move her out of the way for now.”

Alec agreed and stood up with Isabelle still in his arms once Clary got a good hold on her legs. She tried her best to be as gentle as possible with the right one, but couldn’t help with the jostling. Every time they took a step, Isabelle whined. Alec’s heart ached in his chest, feeling powerless as he watched his sister writhe around in immense amounts of pain. He wished he could just take it all away from her to bear for himself.

They placed Isabelle behind one of the pews in the back of the church, double checking to make sure she was well-hidden before running back to the battle.

By the time they got there, there wasn’t much battle left to fight.

Lydia was passed out next to the piano, her stele still in her grasp. Jace and Simon were sat back to back on the ground, magical rope tying them both tightly together. Iris stood over them, cackling as they struggled against the binds. The warlock turned to face them as they approached, victory dancing clearly across her pupils.

“Get out of the way, little girl. Unless you want to get hurt,” she ordered, summoning up her magic between her fingertips.

Clary readied her dual blades in response. “The only one that’s about to get hurt here is you.”

Iris sent a bolt of magical energy at Clary, forcing the redhead to dive off to the left, consequently away from Alec.

This was apparently what Iris had planned all along, because she grinned wickedly and shot another bolt of energy at him, forcing him to duck down and out of the way of the attack. She sent another bolt, causing him to stumble off of his feet and onto his back on the floor of the church. When yet another was thrown his way he rolled off to the side, getting up onto his knees and reaching for his bow that had clattered to the ground during the attacks.

Just as his fingertips were grazing the bow, a magical rope wound itself around his wrist, pulling tight and yanking him into the air. He went sailing into the furthest wall of the building, smacking his back right against it. The rope vanished almost as soon as it had grabbed him, causing him to go crashing into the floor below.

Once his head began to clear, he looked up to see Iris yanking a seraph dagger out of her shoulder. The warlock spun out of the way as Clary came at her with a blade, just barely missing her neck.

Alec drew an iratze onto his hip to ease the soreness in his back and activated his deflect, heightened speed, and accuracy runes. He got up just in time to catch his bow that Clary threw in his direction. He notched an arrow and jumped on top of the piano, letting it fly at Iris’ chest.

Just before the arrow could sink itself into her heart, she stopped it in midair, tossing it to the side to clatter at Clary’s feet. As Iris whirled away from another attack launched by the carrot, she shot a bolt of lightning energy at his chest.

He flipped up and out of the way of the bolt, landing on his feet next to Lydia’s unconscious body. He bent down to check her wound, and felt almost sick when he noticed how deep it was. He quickly applied the iratze that Lydia had failed to before she fainted and let out a sigh of relief as the bleeding began to slow. Once he was assured that she would be fine, he took off in the direction of the graveyard. Evidently, Clary had chased her out of the church. The sounds of battle were ringing clear from the outside.

He notched another arrow and slid to a halt in the mud, on the top of the hill, letting it fly at Iris once again. This time, the warlock was too distracted with Clary to notice his arrival, and she cried out in shock as the arrow embedded itself into her back.

Clary took the opportunity to kick her feet out from under her, and Iris landed on her stomach with a loud thud. Alec slid down the hill, joining Clary at the bottom. The carrot had Iris’ wrists pinned behind her head, preventing her from initiating another attack.

Alec whipped out a pair of enchanted handcuffs from his weapons belt and bent down to cuff the warlock’s wrists together. Before he could, however, the cuffs flew out of his hands, landing on the roof of the church. There was little to no time to react as he saw a flash of red hair go flying past him. Clary sailed through the air and back through the doors of the church, a ward going up around the building immediately afterwards.

He looked up to the top of the hill to see a tall, slender figure covered in a long, dark cloak with its arms extended towards him. The only characteristic to the mysterious creature he could see were a pair of caramel-skinned hands peaking out from beneath the sleeves of the cloak.

Alec’s limbs went completely stiff, as if they had been turned to solid ice. He only had the ability to move his head. He watched the cloaked figure walked unhurriedly down the hill, approaching Iris’ limp form.

“Get up.”

A man.

He ripped the arrow out of her back and yanked her up off the ground. The warlock groaned in pain and stumbled back onto her feet. The man smoothed his hand down her back and the wound there instantly mended itself.

“Thank you,” she panted, stretching her limbs and turning back around to face the newcomer.

He didn’t seem to be very pleased with her. “Just do as you were told, you useless warlock. Only you could manage to screw up such a simple task,” he spat, white-hot venom lacing every single word.

Iris nodded obediently and lit her hands back up with her magic, stepping up to where he stood frozen. Alec coughed and sputtered as she lifted a mist of red up to his face and into his nose, forcing him to inhale the chemical. It smelled pleasant, but he still knew it couldn’t be anything good. She paused for a moment and then began to chant the words to a spell in latin. He wasn’t very fluent with the language, but he still tried his best to grasp onto some of the words he knew as she spoke.

She pressed her hands to his stomach and began sending waves of magical energy into his system. Once she finished, she turned back to speak to the cloaked figure.

But he was gone.

She sighed and released Alec from his hold, causing him to fall face-first into the mud underneath his boots. He didn’t have much time to lift himself up off the ground before Iris summoned a portal, stepping through and disappearing once again.

 _Dammit_.


	7. The Calm Before The Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thing get a little r rated in this chapter. You’ve been warned.

Alec collapsed into the sofa, thoroughly exhausted from that intense and mind-boggling mission. It had been a complete waste of time. Hell, it had probably only made this situation that much worse. They hadn’t captured Iris and Alec only got another spell cast on him as a result.

Speaking of the spell, he still had no idea what it was. He didn’t feel any different at all. He wished whatever Iris had done to him would have taken immediate effect. This was somehow worse. The sitting and waiting around for whatever was going to happen, to happen.

He couldn’t ever catch a break, could he?

The minute he arrived home, he’d begged Magnus to call up Catarina to see just what Iris had done to him. It took Magnus a long time to explain to him that she wouldn’t be able to find anything, because Alec was in the midst of having a panic attack. Apparently, the spell had to actually take affect before they could detect it. So there wouldn’t be a point in inviting her over.

Magnus sashayed into the living room with a bottle of tequila in one hand and two wine glasses in another. He plopped down on the seat next to him and began to pour the drinks.

“Figured you could use a drink,” Magnus said.

Alec laughed. “Understatement of the year. I could probably use about a dozen drinks right now.”

His fiancé passed him a glass filled with the alcohol and took a delicate sip from his own. “I think you could do with some sleep more than getting drunk, love.”

Alec couldn’t agree more. All he wanted to do was curl up in bed with his favorite person in the world and never get up again. Logically, he knew that just wasn’t possible. But a man could dream.

Or woman, he supposed.

“So what are we gonna do about tomorrow?” Alec asked, feeling the telltale signs of anxiety creeping up in his chest.

Magnus downed the rest of his drink and reached down to pour himself another. “Jace and Isabelle are going to run the institute in your absence. They’re running with the excuse that you’ve fallen ill until we can figure something else out,” he explained.

He was too tired to do anything other than nod. He downed the rest of the liquid in his glass and passed it over to Magnus. His boyfriend was about to pour him another drink until he stopped him with a shake of his head.

“Can we please go to bed? I really need you to hold me right now,” he admitted shyly, hiding his flushed cheeks in the junction between Magnus’ neck and shoulder.

Magnus hummed in agreement and swept Alec up bridal style from the couch. He was way too exhausted to protest so he simply wrapped his arms around his neck. Magnus took him into the bedroom and sat him down on their bed. He began to slowly remove his clothes piece by piece, until all that remained was his tank top and underwear.

Magnus removed his own top and jeans and threw them into the hamper next to the closet. He moved to lay down on the bed but Alec wrapped his fingers around his wrist and pulled him back until he was standing right in front of him again.

Alec bit his lip in what he hoped was an enticing manner. “You know...I was promised a kiss earlier today that never got delivered,” he spoke softly, rubbing the other man’s hand against his cheek as he did so.

Magnus chuckled and cupped his hands across Alec’s face. The shadowhunter peered up at him behind heavy-lidded lashes. Magnus leaned down and without a moments notice pressed his lips against Alec’s. The kiss started out steady and gentle, but it didn’t take long for things to get more passionate.

Alec jumped up into his arms and clung to him like a koala bear. They made out with a type of frenzy that could only come with not having done so in so long. Magnus ended the kiss with a final suck on his lower lip, pulling back and smiling stupidly up at Alec.

In that moment, Alec began to feel a little hot under the collar. Well, figurative collar, considering the fact that he wasn’t wearing anything but a tank top and a pair of panties. His heart picked up speed, his body began to heat up, and the familiar feelings of arousal began to tingle down between his legs. It was like a switch was flipped inside his mind, causing him to grow increasingly desperate to have Magnus by the minute.

He couldn’t help but slowly gyrate his hips against his fiancé. He moaned softly as he got some delicious friction from the hard planes of Magnus’ chest. The heat coiled in his belly only intensified. Alec wasn’t sure if it was the body he was in or what, but he began to feel so needy for Magnus that he could hardly stand it.

Unfortunately for him , his boyfriend was a considerate sweetheart and sat him down on the bed, putting enough distance between their bodies for him to maintain some semblance of self-control.

“Alexander. You’re tired. Perhaps we should just call it a night,” he suggested, smoothing down the hair on his head at the same time.

Alec shook his head frantically. He leapt up from where he was sitting and pulled Magnus into a searing kiss, gasping softly when he felt something slick and foreign between his legs. He ignored it for now. He wanted Magnus too much to care about much else. He slowly rubbed himself against his thigh, watching deviously as Magnus had to close his eyes and take a few deep breaths to steady himself.

“I don’t want to call it a night. I want you, Magnus,” he murmured into his ear, mouthing at the shell and moving his way down the side of his neck and to his collarbone, latching onto his skin with his teeth and sucking softly.

Magnus groaned and slotted his own pelvis between Alec’s thigh, rubbing up against him helplessly. Alec couldn’t help but smirk when he felt Magnus steadily growing harder and harder with each passing second.

“Alec...are you sure about this?” He panted against his neck, the way he was gyrating eagerly against his thigh betraying his words.

The shadowhunter nodded. “Yes, I’m sure, Mags,” he assured, and then, for good measure, his voice dropped down a couple octaves to something dark and, dare he say, sexy. “Why? Don’t you want me too?”

Magnus wrapped his arms under his thighs and lifted him up. Alec wound his legs around Magnus’ waist as the other man began guiding them towards the bed. He gently laid Alec down first, as if he was handling something precious and delicate. It made his heart skip a couple beats.

Magnus straddled his hips and leaned in close. “More than you’ll ever know, Alexander,” he whispered.

“Then take me.”

And that’s exactly what he did.

~~~

Magnus woke early the next morning to an empty bed. It never mattered how early he woke up, he’d never beat his early-bird boyfriend to the punch. Which was a little unfortunate, since that meant the amount of opportunities he had to ogle his adorable fiancé as he slept were scarce.

He smiled giddily and buried his face in his Alec’s pillow, inhaling his scent as the memories from the night before flashed across his mind. It had been wonderful, as always, but a little strange. It wasn’t the body he’d become accustomed to touching and kissing. But it was still amazing all the same.

It was Alec. How could it be anything less?

Even still, he wanted his boyfriend back in his own body. He missed him even more with each passing day. It was the little things, building up inside and threatening to crush him.

He missed leaning up on his toes to catch his lips when Alec didn’t lean down to him. He missed being held tight against that strong, muscled chest, a feeling of contentment and safety enveloping him like a safety net. He missed being manhandled into the bedroom, Alec lifting him up into his arms and tossing him onto their bed with little to no struggle. He missed being spread wide open on their satin sheets and getting fu-

Okay, get a grip, Magnus.

He rolled out of bed and slipped his boxer shorts on. He was about to go hop in the shower when his nose picked up on the smell of bacon wafting into their bedroom. Showering can wait, he ultimately decided. He swung open the door and stumbled into the kitchen.

Alec was hovering over the stove, his face pulled tight into a grimace. He was wearing nothing but his panties and the black tank top he’d worn under his leather jacket the night before. His hair was pulled up into a messy bun and framing the elegant planes of his face. Magnus stood frozen at the entryway, totally enamored with his gorgeous warrior princess.

And if he continued to use that nickname just because it made his boyfriend whine and flush oh so prettily, then, well, sue him. Magnus has always been a weak man when it came to the beauty of mortals.

Alec was in the middle of flipping large, fluffy pancakes on the stovetop. They looked wonderful. Magnus was incredibly grateful that his boyfriend had come such a long way in such a short amount of time in the kitchen after that godawful soup. Now, Magnus wasn’t as afraid to eat what he made and Alec got to do something he not so discreetly enjoyed. It was a win win.

Magnus stepped behind him and wrapped his arms around the shadowhunter’s waist. Alec leaned his head back and, with that same breathtaking grin that always managed to make his breath stutter in his lungs, he leaned in and pressed a chaste kiss against his jaw. Alec began to hum as he continued to cook, flipping the pancakes when appropriate.

“You’re becoming quite the little housewife, darling.”

Alec groaned and pushed him away, promptly spinning around and strutting into the living room. “Aaaand, moment ruined.”

“Oh baby, come on! The pancakes are gonna burn,” Magnus pouted.

Alec plopped down onto the couch and kicked his bare feet up onto the coffee table. “Shoulda thought about that before you decided to mock me,” he called back.

Before Magnus could retort, a loud knock sounded at the door before it swung open not even a second later. Jace and Isabelle barged into the loft and fixed their eldest brother with a glare.

“Alexander Gideon Lightwood, you have been charged with two counts of first degree negligence. Do you have anything to say for yourself?” Isabelle snapped, flipping her hair over her shoulder as she did.

Alec whipped around to face them both. “Excuse me?” He scoffed, an incredulous expression spreading across his face. It was almost comical, how exaggerated it was. But knowing his boyfriend, Magnus knew it was all natural. Alec had never really been a fan of theatrics.

“Dude. Why didn’t you tell us that Iris put another spell on you?” Jace asked, hurt and brotherly concern evident in his tone.

Alec only shook his head. “I was going to tell you today. I wanted to give you guys a chance to rest before I stirred up any further drama.”

His sister and parabatai’s faces softened at his confession, but they still didn’t look too happy with him. Understandable, Magnus supposed. If he was in their shoes he would probably behave the same way.

“You’re our brother, Alec. It doesn’t matter what time it is, you need to tell us when something has happened,” Isabelle sighed. As the hard mask cracked and fell from her face, it showcased a thoroughly exhausted young woman pushed to her limits underneath.

This was what Alec had hoped to avoid. But in his attempt to do so, he had only made things that much worse. Magnus leaned back against the entryway with his hands shoved in the pockets of his boxer briefs, being nothing more than a silent observer to the scene unfolding before him.

Alec nodded once, one of those firm, no-nonsense, solider nods he was always using. Isabelle launched herself at him and held him tight against her chest. It was an endearing sight to witness.

“So what do we know about this spell so far?” Jace asked, emotional moment already long gone. He was immediately back to his calm, carefree self. Almost as if the past minute had never even happened.

Alec laughed bitterly. “Absolutely nothing. We won’t know anything until the spell stops lying dormant.”

Neither of the siblings seemed pleased with the revelation. Then again, none of them were. Magnus wrapped his arms around Alec’s neck from behind the couch and gave him a soft, chaste kiss against his temple.

“I think you’re about to burn our breakfast, darling,” Magnus murmured into his ear.

Alec glanced up at him defiantly. “Maybe if you apologize I’ll go finish cooking it.”

Before Magnus had a chance to reply, Isabelle piped up from where she was standing next to the bar. “That’s okay, Alec. I’ll go finish it up for you,” she announced as she spun on her heels and headed for their kitchen.

Alec’s stubborn demeanor dropped to one of unabashed horror in a second flat. He shoved Magnus’ arms off of him and jumped over the back of the couch. There was a moment there where Magnus was sure he was about to lose balance and fall face first into the floor, but Alec righted himself and slid to the kitchen entryway before Isabelle could set for inside.

“You stay away from my food!” He ordered with a sharp jab to his sister’s chest. He then went back to cooking their pancakes. The one currently on the stovetop was well beyond burnt, but hey, what was one pancake? Alec replaced the ruined one with some fresh batter.

Isabelle stuck her tongue out at his back and plopped down in one of the chairs at the breakfast bar.

Well, at least she wasn’t touching their food. Magnus wasn’t really looking to get food poisoning today. Maybe another time.

The domesticity of it all was heart-warming. His breathtaking boyfriend, standing at the stove in nothing but a pair of panties and a tank top, flipping pancakes for breakfast. It was more than Magnus could have ever hoped for. He almost wished this moment would last forever.

But, alas, as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. And unbeknownst to Magnus Bane and Alexander Lightwood, a storm they had never prepared for was heading their way lightning fast.

 


	8. A Mother’s Wrath

_Seven weeks_.

It’d been over seven weeks since they’d had even a remote lead on Iris Rouse or her mysterious accomplice. Seven weeks since their last encounter, back at the abandoned church.

The last lead they’d followed was an alleged sighting of Iris in Malaysia. But that whole ordeal had been an enormous waste of time and resources. The werewolf that had claimed to see her at a nightclub there ended up being totally unreliable. He continued to change his story whenever the details of his original failed to add up. After the heat got to be too much, he finally confessed that he had lied about the sighting in order to receive the award money the Clave was offering for information on the rogue warlock’s whereabouts.

Ever since that incident, there had been nothing other than silence. It was almost as if Iris Rouse had dropped completely off the face of the earth. Nobody had seen her. Nobody had heard from her. Nothing. It was like she never even existed to begin with.

It was frustrating Alec down to his very core. He’d been in this body for almost two months, for angel’s sake! He was going insane. Once again, he felt uncomfortable in his own skin. This body was one he wasn’t accustomed to using. So he still felt pretty awkward with certain things he had to do with it.

It also didn’t help that it was currently in the middle of betraying him in one of the worst ways known to man. Alec had pretty much made a home for himself on the floor of the bathroom. He’d been hunched over the toilet all morning long, puking so violently that it was starting to rival a scene from The Exorcist.

His newfound knowledge of mundane films was one he never saw coming. Stupid Simon.

After about the fourth time in an hour that he had bolted into the bathroom he threw in the towel. So now he was just leaning against the bathtub, a fluffy blanket wrapped around his shoulders and phone in hand, waiting around for his next bout of sickness to make an appearance. And it would. He could feel it coming already.

This was something he didn’t understand. Shadowhunters don’t really get sick that often. It’s an incredibly rare occurrence, actually. Their immune systems were much stronger than a regular old mundane, thankfully. If not, they’d probably all be dead from the sickness and diseases many of the demons they fight carry into the world.

But while it was rare for a shadowhunter to get sick, it still wasn’t unheard of. Alec had gotten sick once when he was fifteen, but then again that was unrelated entirely to disease and viruses. He’d spent the following days lying in bed, slowly withering away from food poisoning after eating a slice of a birthday cake Isabelle had baked for him. After that he always made sure he had an excuse to be away from the institute on his birthdays.

But this was different. There was seemingly no direct cause for it. He didn’t really feel sick, per say. At least, not sick in the way it was always described to him. He never had actually been sick before, so his knowledge on the subject was lacking. But he was sure that just simple nausea didn’t fall under the list of known illness.

He felt personally attacked.

Just as he was throwing his head back over the toilet to endure yet another round, Isabelle walked into the room. She stopped short when she saw him, and raced to his side immediately. His sister murmured soothing words and stroked his hair back away from his face as he threw up, on the verge of crying from he intensity of it. God, this sucked.

Only after he had regained the ability to breathe properly did his sister speak.

“Damn, big brother. That was brutal,” she muttered.

He released a breathy laugh. “Yeah, you’re telling me.”

“Come on, let’s get you off this floor,” she said.

Isabelle wrapped her arms around his torso and gently lifted him up to stand on his own two feet. She gave him a moment to right himself and then pulled back, plucking his blanket off the floor and tossing it back to him. She led him out of the bathroom and into the living room, where Clary and Simon were waiting, much to his dismay.

Okay, he didn’t hate them. But he wasn’t exactly their number one fan either. They still acted too much like mundanes for his liking. Ignorant, oblivious, and dare he say blinded at times. But they were beginning to grow on him. Like leeches.

“Where’s Jace?” He asked, eyes darting around to catch a glimpse of the arrogant blonde. He was nowhere in sight.

Clary rolled her eyes. “Book club.”

Alec raised an eyebrow. “You mean...”

Her eyes widened when she saw what he was implying. “No! God, no. I’d kill him. He’s literally at an actual, genuine book club.”

Alec couldn’t hold back the laugh that bursted through his chest. The thought of his brooding, macho parabatai sitting in a soft plushy chair discussing some mundane novel with a bunch of geeky girls amused him to no end. But it was still confusing.

“May I ask why?”

Simon piped up from where he was stood beside his parabatai. “It was a bet. I told him that he was too dense to read an entire book in full and he took me up on the challenge. He uses the book club to understand what’s going on in the novel, since his knowledge of mundane culture is so low.”

Alec shook his head fondly, remembering how difficult it always was for his brother to turn down a challenge. Jace was in it to win it with everything he did, no matter the subject at hand. He put his all into whatever he set his mind to. It was a good quality to his personality that frustrated Alec with how far he took it at times. But at the end of the day, he admired this part of him. So he never complained too much.

A portal suddenly came into existence next to the front door, and out walked Magnus, looking as mesmerizing as ever. He wore extra glitter today, so he was pretty close to looking like a walking talking disco ball. On anyone else it would look utterly ridiculous. But Magnus held a certain kind of magnificence with whatever he wore. He could probably wear a garbage bag and still pull it off.

Isabelle frowned. “How did you make a portal?” She asked.

Magnus waved his hand dismissively. “Cat made it for me. I was just touching base with her on a few things.”

Isabelle wasn’t spared another glance after Magnus’ eyes locked with Alec’s. They stared at one another in silence. What should have been slightly uncomfortable was oddly calming. The pair basked in the quiet moment, smiling at each other in greeting. Strangely, his nausea began to simmer down to nothing but a dull ache in the pit of his stomach.

A finger snap from his sister interrupted them. “As cute as this is, I actually had a purpose in coming here,” she announced, strutting over to his boyfriend and cocking a hip.

Magnus looked at her expectantly, a slight glint of annoyance evident in his eyes at the interruption. “Yes, dear?”

She took a deep breath, like she was bracing herself for some sort of impact. “Mom is suspicious.”

Alec threw his head back with a loud groan. After the first few days of his transformation, they’d managed to brainstorm a perfect solution to their issue concerning the running of the institute. It was Jace’s suggestion, as he recalled the way Valentine used to deceive him into believing that he was Michael Wayland, Jace’s alleged father. A glamour.

So for the following weeks Alec’s been running the institute as usual. Except now every morning before he left the loft he had to cast a glamour to appear as his normal self. But now that his mother with suspicious, things had the potential to spiral back out of control. How did she even know something was off? The glamour was perfected by now, after so many weeks of having to use it.

Isabelle seemed to sense this question before he even had to voice it, because she continued. “A few mornings ago she saw you disappear into the garden, but only a woman emerged afterwards,” she explained.

Shit.

He remembers the morning in question perfectly. He’d been overworked and stressed and beyond exhausted, and could feel his glamour slipping as his strength drained. So he’d rushed out of sight and let it fade away. That mistake was one that could cost him big time, now.

“What do we do?” Alec asked.

His sister only shook her head, a look of defeat overtaking her features. “We have to tell her. There’s no other choice now. As we speak, she’s making her way over here.”

“ _What_?”

Clary nodded, strutting over to stand at Isabelle’s side. “We got here as fast as we could. Isabelle caught wind of it after a coffee date she had this morning with Maia, who found out through Luke. She’ll be here any minute now.”

Panic began to settle deep inside his bones. Everything could be ruined if she found out. His mother had changed, he knew that, but the more people that knew about his predicament the greater the chance that it would be revealed. An accidental slip up to the wrong person, and it would all go up in an eruption of smoke and fire. Leaving nothing but the ashes of his career and everything he ever held dear behind in its wake.

He was just about to run over to the door and lock it, probably barricade himself inside a closet until she left, but he didn’t make it two steps before the front door slammed open, a loud bang resonating through the walls of the loft. He barely had time to blink before in stormed an enraged momma Lightwood, looking ready to raise hell and bring down heaven if anything even remotely got in her way. Her eyes locked on Magnus instantly, turning hard and determined.

“Magnus, _where is my son_? I have been calling you both for days, with no answer. I demand an explanation!” She snapped, voice controlled and deadly calm.

The man in question only stood there, mouth gaping open and closed like a fish. Maryse was intense. Always had been. Even a centuries old warlock could feel threatened by her presence. Shadowhunter or not. That would never change.

“Mom, this is going to sound crazy, but-“

But Isabelle was once again ignored. Maryse’s gaze passed right over her and landed on Alec, a low growl rumbling from her throat. In a flash, she was right in his face, grabbing him by the collar, slamming his back into the wall behind him, and holding a dagger to his neck. He could barely breathe under her deadly stare.

“ _You_ ,” she spat, venom lacing her every word. “You were the one I saw coming out of that garden my son disappeared in the other day. I swear by every angel up in high heaven that if you laid so much as a finger on my boy, I will rip you in two!”

Isabelle raced over to her mother and brother and tried to rip Maryse off of him, but she was as unmovable as stone.

“Mom!” Isabelle screamed, desperation creeping into her voice. “That’s Alec! Let him go!”

Maryse went ridged, shock replacing the fury in her baby blues. The dagger she was holding in her palm clattered to the floor, the echo of metal against wood resonating throughout the room the only sounds audible. Her crimson painted lips were parted in surprise.

Her following words were chosen carefully. “Isabelle Sofia Lightwood, what did you just say to me?” She asked slow and deliberate, apprehension overtaking her tone.

But Isabelle was thoroughly speechless. The panic had caused the long-kept secret to come flying out of her mouth, and now her actions were beginning to dawn on her as the seconds ticked by. They were so screwed.

His mother turned back to face him, her grip on his shirt going lax. “Alec?” she whispered to him, almost like it was a question in need of an intricate explanation.

He nodded slowly, awaiting the storm that was about to crash down upon him. The shadowhunter worried at his lip, as she stared him down, just praying that she would get whatever she was going to do over with already. The anticipation was starting to kill him.

But the storm never came.

Instead, a quiet, strangled sob escaped Maryse’s lips. It was so low that only he was able to hear it, albeit barely. Her arms flew around his neck and she buried her face in the junction between his neck and shoulder. He felt a bit of wetness begin to slip down his skin.

“Oh, my sweet boy! By the angel, I thought you were dead! When I went through that garden after you left and couldn’t find you I couldn’t help but think the worst,” she cried, holding him so tight it was cutting off the blood circulation in his shoulder.

Alec only sighed in relief, grateful that she wasn’t angry. He held her back with just as much fervor. He’d missed his mother so much in the weeks they’d been apart.

It took a few moments more for Maryse to pull back, but she still kept her hands resting on his shoulders. She leaned back and began to rake her eyes over him, inspecting his altered body like it was some kind of science experiment that was in need of an evaluation. He felt uncomfortable once again under her gaze.

It was pretty much out of nowhere that she gasped, a hand flying to her mouth and eyes bulging once more. She took a step back away from him. The hand she held up to her lips was subtly trembling as she continued to stare. He let out a shaky breath, anxiety creeping back up into his chest.

“Mom, what’s wrong?” He asked, almost afraid to hear her answer.

But even as unprepared for her reply as he was, he still received it. And it was one that he left him speechless.

“ _Alec_ ,” she began, caution and disbelief interweaving itself into her voice. “You’re pregnant.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *mic drop*...but you were expecting this, weren’t you? xp


	9. Cemented Reality

Pregnant.

 _Excuse the fuck outta me_?

Alec scoffed at the ludicrous accusation. He knew his mother was crazy to some degree. She was a Trueblood by DNA, and that family was absolutely insane. But to see just how far off the deep end she truly was? It stunned him.

But the look of total seriousness on her face was just too comical to ignore. He couldn’t hold in the laugh that escaped through his lips. Just the mere idea of such a thing was ridiculous. Beyond so.

“Alec, this is serious,” she insisted, digging around through her purse and producing a small box from the very bottom.

He lifted an eyebrow. “What is that thing?”

“It’s a test,” she replied, already yanking it open and producing a small white package from inside.

His eyes rolled to the back of his head. “ _Mom_. Do you even realize how absurd this is?”

She shook her head vigorously, shoving the package into his hands and spinning him around towards the bathroom. “I know, I know. But I’m a mother of four, Alec. I know it when I see it,” she insisted.

Alec skid to a stop and shoved the stupid device back in her hands. “I’m not taking this. There’s no _point_ in me taking this!”

Isabelle was the first of the shell-shocked group behind them to speak. But instead of commenting on the accusation, she simply asked, “Mom, why do you just casually carry around pregnancy tests in your purse?”

Maryse leveled her daughter with a look that would make even Darwin feel incompetent. “I don’t, Isabelle. I just...had a bit of a scare last week,” she admitted hesitantly, appearing to be embarrassed for probably the first time ever in her entire lifetime.

Clary’s jaw dropped. “You and Luke almost- _oh my god_!” She cried, a mixture of delight and disappointment dancing around in her jade green irises.

Oh, of course! The carrot was shocked by the revelation that Luke and Maryse almost had a kid but was completely unresponsive when his mother insisted that he was pregnant. Which was _impossible_ , by the way. Stupid mundanes.

And it was impossible. Which was why he didn’t understand why she was so dead set in her belief that it was truth. He’s a man after-

Okay. So he’s not a man at this current moment in time. But still! That doesn’t change the fact that it was very much impossible. Magnus was the only man he’d ever slept with and he was infertile. All warlocks wer-

But that’s just it though, isn’t it? Magnus was no longer a warlock. He was a mundane now. And the last time Alec checked, mundanes were completely fertile. Alec was no longer a man. He’s a woman now. And the last time he checked, women were completely able to conceive.

 _Oh my fucking god_.

Pregnant! Him, pregnant! _What the actual hell_? He couldn’t even comprehend such a possibility. He just stood there, silent and frozen as his entire family’s attention remained on him. A sudden wave of nausea hit him like a freight train, this time double in intensity. He gagged and flung a hand over his mouth.

“By the angel, I think I’m gonna be sick,” he choked out as he spun on his heels and took off for the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him as he did.

~~~

Magnus only watched as his boyfriend disappeared into the bathroom. Even when he heard the sounds of violent gagging from inside, he remained where he stood. It’s not like he doesn’t want to go comfort his fiancé, because he does. But he was helpless to do anything other than stand there, frozen in place by a force stronger than arctic ice.

“I give up,” Jace declared, throwing his hands up in the air and collapsing into his couch. The blonde didn’t bother to elaborate further. Only reached for the remote and clicked the TV on.

Simon frowned. “Give up on what, dude?” He asked, voicing the question that was running through each and every single one of their minds.

“Trying to understand a damn thing that ever happens in this psychotic family,” he huffed, going silent once again as he scrolled through the TV guide.

Magnus couldn’t disagree with him on that one.

His mind was whirling and his heart hammering. He couldn’t even begin to process what just happened. Alec, pregnant? With his biological child? That was just insanity. He’d been infertile for over four centuries, surely losing his magic couldn’t have altered that? Right?

He wasn’t so sure. About anything at all. Everything was just so messed up now. He was a mundane. Maryse was a mundane. Alec was a woman. Alec was a pregnant woman. Nothing made sense anymore. Everything he ever knew to be true was shattering before his forever glamoured eyes. And he was helpless to do anything other than watch as it crumbled.

“So this went well,” Simon announced, albeit slightly awkwardly. He didn’t seem to know of anything else to say. He only stared at the door Alec had disappeared through a few moments prior in bewilderment. Magnus knew the feeling.

Maryse only sighed. She ignored them in favor of joining her wrenching son in the bathroom. Her heels clacked loudly against the dead silence of the living room. The only other sound audible other than Jace’s clicking on the TV remote.

“Oh, Alec,” she murmured as she vanished through the door, quietly clicking it closed behind her.

Magnus shook his head. He’d finally regained the ability to breathe properly. He took deep inhaled through his nose, and brief exhales through his mouth. Trying with everything he had to calm himself down. A mixture of shock, panic, confusion, and fear raging up a violent storm within his chest.

He managed to quell the storm in record time. With that distraction finally out of the way, he was able to focus again. The billions of questions swirling around his mind sorted themselves out. One at a time, Magnus ordered himself.

“What do I do?” He muttered to himself lowly, falling back into one of his living chairs and focusing in on a very interesting spot on the opposite wall.

Before Magnus could discover the correct solution on his own, Isabelle grinned wildly and slapped him on the back of the shoulder. He flinched.

“You be the best damn dad in the whole world,” she laughed, as if it was really that simple.

Magnus scoffed. “How can you possibly be so indifferent about this. Your brother’s pregnant. Your _brother_ ,” he emphasized, slowly elaborating on each word.

The shadowhunter only shrugged a shoulder in reply. “Nothing surprises me anymore,” she simply stated, taking a seat on the armrest of his chair as she did. She began to inspect her slightly chipped nail polish, completely and totally unconcerned with their current predicament.

Isabelle Lightwood really was something out of this world entirely, he concluded. It wasn’t the first time he had come to that realization, and he knew that it definitely wouldn’t be the last. Not by a long shot. But this was the first time that he was speechless as a result of it. All he could do was stare up at her silently, mind scrambling around to find the right words and inevitably failing.

Magnus visibly gulped. He let out a slow, deliberate breath and made his way towards the bathroom door. Right as he was about to reach out for the door handle, his legs failed him. They went painfully stiff. He just couldn’t do it.

How could Magnus face the man that he loved after finding out that he’d done something to him he might not have even wanted in the first place? It felt agonizingly like an invasion of his fiancé’s body. And he never knew that he could be capable of doing such a thing to his darling shadowhunter. His gut twisted painfully, and he blinked back pained tears.

Magnus leant his head back against the wall, ears straining to hear something. Anything. He just needed to know that Alec was okay. Or at least, that he was going to be. He’d never forgive himself if he wouldn’t be.

He should have been more careful. If he’d just sat there and thought things through for two seconds at most then he’d have realized that this was now a possibility for them. But he hadn’t. Because he’d never had any reason to before. Never even doubted his complete inability to produce children. Until now, anyway.

That night, all he could focus on was the feeling of Alec’s skin pressed against his own, sliding filthily together with the help of their combined sweat. The feeling of his lips locking onto his, kissing him like it was the last opportunity he’d ever have to do so. The feeling of his heart hammering against his chest and his heavy breaths hitting his neck as Magnus thrusted into him with a type of desperation that could only come from the overwhelming love they held for one another.

He knew exactly which night had caused this. Because they hadn’t been intimate since. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. Neither Magnus nor Alec had the ability to refrain from touching one another for seven weeks straight. But for some reason that still made zero sense to him, Alec had absolutely no desire to have a repeat of that night. Instead, they’d stuck to what they normally did. Bringing pleasure to each other with their hands, mouths, and penetration strictly through the back door.

Magnus still couldn’t make sense of it at all. He didn’t understand why Alec had been so fervent for it that night, but afterwards didn’t want anything to do with it. Magnus would have understood if that night had never happened. After all, Alec was as gay as they came. So of course he wouldn’t desire anything relating to vaginal intercourse, even when residing within the body of a woman. But he’d been borderline desperate to have it that night, so Magnus was unable to determine what that could mean.

Perhaps he was just overthinking it. Maybe Alec had been eager to try it, to experiment with something he’d been incapable of before. But he’d most likely realized that it wasn’t something he wished to continue with. Still, even that explanation made no sense. Alec had enjoyed the sex very much, if the moans that the shadowhunter practically screamed into his ear was any indication.

“I don’t know what to do,” Magnus heard Alec sob through the thin wall between him and the bathroom. It broke his heart into tiny pieces to hear the anguish lacing his fiancé’s words.

A bit of shuffling could be heard from inside, but Magnus had no way of telling the source. He was about to go back to his seat and leave them to their conversation when he heard Maryse reply.

“You’re a Lightwood, Alexander. You bear what you’re given and make the best of it,” she answered, equal parts consolation and determination overtaking her voice.

Alec replied, but Magnus couldn’t hear what was said due to a sudden clattering inside. It was probably his cue to return to the living room, he decided. Magnus strode back to where the group was engaged in some sort of debate over babysitting. He was so tired of being confused that he just collapsed back into his chair, trying his damnedest to shut out their loud, obnoxious voices.

“Magnus!” Isabelle snapped, whipping around to face him and pointing an accusatory finger at Jace. “Tell this idiot that I’m going to be the number one babysitter,” she ordered, glaring down her brother with a look that could practically kill.

Jace pursed his lips. “Izzy, you couldn’t even keep our pet hamster alive when we were twelve, how the hell are you gonna care for a human being?”

“Oh yeah? And what about that time that we were in charge of watching that Ashwind boy and you let him wander off into enemy territory?” She spat back, barely-contained fury causing her voice to slightly shake.

From where she was stood leaning against one of the doors to the balcony, Clary rolled her eyes at their pointless banter. “I think we’ve well established by now that neither of you are capable of protecting tiny life forms,” she deadpanned, crossing her arms over her chest and cocking a hip as she did so.

It was then that Maryse re-emerged from the bathroom, the pregnancy test she’d been holding from before opened and clutched tight in her grip. Her expression was frightfully blank as she strutted over to where he was seated in his chair. They stared at one another in silence, communicating strictly through their eyes.

They were both scared. Both confused beyond anything they’d ever felt before. But they both were determined to face whatever lied ahead head on as they did everything else in their lives. He’d never realized it before, too busy being consumed by his previous hatred for the woman, but he and Maryse Lightwood had a lot more in common than one would initially believe. It was a mutual understanding that passed between their stares, faint surprise and effortless acceptance of this realization shared between the both of them.

The moment soon passed. Maryse tossed the test in her palm into his lap, not losing his gaze for even a millisecond.

“I sure do hope you’re ready for this, because you’re about to become a _papi_ , _mi querido_ ,” she announced, gesturing down to the test in his lap for added emphasis.

He was reluctant to look down to where she was pointing. He knew what he would see, he wasn’t stupid. But the device setting on his thigh was going to set it all in stone, make it that much more real. But Magnus Bane was no coward, so he resigned himself to his fate and glanced downwards.

Two red lines.

~~~

Alec sat on the bathroom floor just the same as he did a mere few hours ago. Only now he had a newfound knowledge of his predicament that he didn’t before. He leaned his head back against the wall, helpless to stop the onslaught of tears rolling silently down his cheeks. No sounds escaped him. He didn’t know if he was even capable of making any anymore.

His mind had been set for awhile now, he just couldn’t bring himself to take that first step. He knew that this would hurt Magnus deeply. That was the only thing holding him back. Alec didn’t want to hurt the one who meant the most to him. But it was inevitable that he did. There was no sense in prolonging fate.

He stood on wobbly legs, numb from having been sat on for so long. Once he righted himself and reached the door of the bathroom, he peaked out through the crack to see where everyone was.

Clary and Simon were gone. Isabelle was perched on the armrest of the chair his fiancé was buried in, both whispering intently to one another in hushed tones. They would be too enraptured in their conversation to notice him slip out. Jace was watching some random mundane show on the television while his mother was resting on the couch right next to him, nose practically buried in her phone as she typed furiously into the keys.

Alec was careful to avoid the spots in the floor he knew would creak as he slipped out of the bathroom. Nobody spared him a glance. He tiptoed into the bedroom at the end of the hall and immediately set to work on packing some of his things. Strictly the essentials. The only thing he packed that wasn’t necessary for survival was Magnus’ silver ear cuff which formerly remained in the pocket of his leather jacket. Thankfully Lydia had set it on the dresser for him. His jacket was hanging up by the front door, so there was no way he’d be able to reach it unnoticed.

Alec slung the bag over his shoulder and reached for his stele. He paused, turning back to the dresser and grabbing a pen and paper from one of the drawers. He scribbled a few words onto it swiftly and tossed the note onto the bed.

He blinked back the tears that threatened to hit him yet again. God, he hoped beyond hope that Magnus would forgive him for this. He didn’t know what he would do if he returned with nothing left. He couldn’t survive it.

With one last glance out the door at his beautiful, oblivious fiancé, sitting out in their shared living room and speaking with his little sister, he turned away and activated his stele. He drew a rune into one of the bedroom walls, and a portal began to form. Alec only had one thought running through his head as he stepped through.

‘ _I’m going to find Iris Rouse_ ’.


	10. Pain In The Ass Warlocks

“Well, isn’t this a surprise? Is there anyone else you forgot to break into my home?”

Alec groaned low in his throat and tried to prevent his eyes from rolling all the way to the back of his head. Ever since Lorenzo found out about Alec sneaking Magnus into his house all those months ago, he’d been exceedingly bitter and unbearable. Even more so than usual.

“Oh, I know! How about Miss Catarina Loss? At least that’s someone I can actually stand.”

Alec narrowed his eyes. “Are you done?”

Lorenzo scoffed, but remained from commenting further. Instead, he eyed the bag slung over Alec’s shoulder, filled to the brim with his belongings. The high warlock gestured towards it.

“Going on a trip?”

Alec shuffled uncomfortably from where he stood. “Something like that,” he muttered. He really didn’t want anyone inquiring on his intentions for the following days. The less people that knew about this, the better. If so much as one person had any remote idea of where he was heading Magnus would torture it out of them by any means necessary. Powers or no powers.

Lorenzo leaned heavily against his doorframe, still making absolutely no move to allow Alec inside. “So what is it that you want then, shadowhunter?” He lulled.

Alec, never one to beat around the bush, simply replied, “I need an anti-tracking spell.”

An obnoxious cackle rung out through the air. Lorenzo looked equal parts delighted and shocked. He eyed the hunter up and down lazily, the disinterest he felt evident in his irises. Alec began to feel a bit uneasy. Maybe this was a bad idea. He should have just found another warlock.

But then again, he wouldn’t even know where to look. He didn’t know of any other warlocks that wouldn’t come straight to Magnus the minute he showed up. He was sure there were at least a few others, but he couldn’t risk running into the wrong ones. This mission was a fragile one and needed to be handled as such. And Lorenzo Rey was one warlock that he knew didn’t have his boyfriend on speed-dial for sure.

“So you show up at my home under false pretenses, break Asmodeus’ son in through my window, and then later demand my services? Are you serious?” Lorenzo spat, crossing his arms over his shoulders as he did.

“I have cash.”

“Alexander Lightwood! What a pleasure! Please, come on in,” Lorenzo grinned, stepping aside and ushering him quickly inside.

The house looked exactly how he remembered it. Beautiful yet still lacking greatly in comparison to Magnus’ loft. Or maybe Alec was just biased. Either way, it didn’t matter right now. All that mattered was getting this over with and then capturing Iris. He needed answers. And she was the only one in the world who could provide them.

Alec refused to sit down, not wishing to overstay his welcome. He was lucky enough to even get through the threshold. All he needed to do was get this spell and then be on his way. Without it, he’d have an angry ex-warlock at his side in two seconds flat, dragging him through a portal back to the loft by his ear. He wouldn’t be able to get anything accomplished.

Alec reached into his bag and pulled out the stack of hundred bills he’d shoved into the front pocket on his way through the portal. Being apart of a powerful family that came from very old money had its advantages at times. As well as being the fiancé of an man that had had centuries to acquire vast amounts of wealth. But Alec had never touched Magnus money. Would never even dream of it if he could help it. Taking money from people had never sat quite right with him.

Lorenzo visibly brightened. He plucked the cash out from between his fingers and began to count it. With each bill that he added to his other hand his smile grew. By the time he counted out the entire four thousand, he was already summoning up his magic.

Alec took a step back. “Wait!”

The warlock rolled his eyes. “What, now? I’m a very busy man. I’d like to get some rest at some point tonight,” he sighed.

Alec really didn’t want to do this, wouldn’t if he had a choice. But Lorenzo would know the minute his magic touched him that something was up. And if he didn’t outright say it beforehand, it would only result in suspicion. Which was something he certainly did not have the time for right now. At any moment Magnus could be discovering his absence and having his parabatai track him down.

“I’m wearing a glamour,” he admitted.

Lorenzo’s eyebrows furrowed, his magic seeping back into his fingertips ever so slowly. “What kind of a glamour?” He asked.

Alec took a deep breath. “This is gonna sound crazy, but I’ve been enchanted with this spell that...well...you’re just gonna have to see for yourself,” he sighed. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his stele. Without much preamble, he removed the glamour.

It was almost comical how large Lorenzo’s eyes got as he took in Alec’s unveiled female form. But instead of morphing into anger and suspicion like he expected, it instead resulted in a look of realization and understanding dawning over Lorenzo’s face. Which was beyond confusing.

“Iris,” Lorenzo breathed.

Alec almost chocked on pure oxygen. “You knew about this?” He exclaimed.

Lorenzo didn’t answer, he only continued to stare at him in amazement. The hunter could feel unbridled rage seeping into his bloodstream. Lorenzo knew about this and just sat back and let it happen? There was someone that could have prevented all of this bullshit from raining down on him and they instead chose to just ignore it. Alec was beyond angry. If he didn’t need Lorenzo for the anti-tracking spell he’d probably just go on ahead and rip his throat open.

He tried to calm his fury before he replied. Halfway was close enough, he eventually concluded. “So let me get this straight. You knew Iris was going to do this to me and you did nothing?” He growled, palms beginning to tremble slightly as he held himself back from attacking the warlock.

Lorenzo sputtered. “No! Lilith, of course not! Miss Rouse is an old friend of mine. She told me she was working on this sort of spell several months ago. I just didn’t think she’d actually succeed,” he explained, gradually quelling Alec’s anger with each and every word spoken.

Maybe this was a good thing. He hadn’t been able to find anyone connected to Iris closely enough to give him any useful information. But if Iris and Lorenzo were old friends, perhaps he could give him a place to start. It was better than nothing. Because right now all he had to go on was Madzie’s locket that was still not succeeding in gaining a location.

So after Lorenzo granted him the spell he had payed oh so handsomely for, Alec sat him down to have a nice, long conversation.

~~~

Magnus and Maryse were sitting across from one another in the armchairs of his loft, sipping on piping hot coffee and discussing Alec’s current...condition? Predicament? Magnus wasn’t even sure what to call this situation. But slowly, _very slowly_ , they were starting to work out the logistics and inner workings of what needed to be addressed and dealt with for this sort of ordeal.

Jace was snoring away on his sofa. The blonde shadowhunter was sprawled out on his stomach, arms flailed about and legs curled in on himself. There was drool slowly dripping out of the corner of his mouth, much to Magnus’ dismay. All in all, Jace looked ridiculous.

But then again, what’s new, he thought with a snort.

“So, do you think it’s time yet?” Magnus asked, worrying at his lower lip in desperation.

He just needed to make sure Alec was alright. Something was gnawing at him from the inside, consuming him completely with concern. It was much like the feeling he experienced right before Alec went on the hunt that had started this whole mess. But this time, he knew he should follow his gut no matter what.

But then again, the very last thing in the world he wished to do was push Alec past his breaking point. The hunter was so fragile right now, vulnerable in his current state. While he didn’t want to crowd his fiancé, he couldn’t help but worry. But, once again, what’s new?

Maryse nodded solemnly. She was just as anxious to see her son after the events of the early evening as well. But she and Magnus were the two people who knew him better than anyone else probably ever would. So they knew they had to give him his space. Otherwise, he would begin to lock himself away and toss out the key.

Maryse rose from her seat and gently placed her steaming mug of coffee on one of the coasters on his glass coffee table. He waited patiently for her to emerge from his bedroom with his sweet, precious Alexander. But when she returned empty handed, his heart sunk to the pit of his abdomen. The panic on her face was what made him realize that he’d messed up yet again.

Four hundred years of life and he still had yet to master the art of trusting himself. It’s well time he learned. But that wasn’t what was important right now. What was important was why the hell Maryse looked so stricken.

“Alec is gone,” she whispered, eyes blown wide open and fixed on a particularly interesting spot on his hardwood flooring.

He narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean by _gone_ , Maryse?” he asked, unable to prevent the venom from seeping into his tone of voice.

She flinched. Then something he had never seen before graced her face. It was gut-wrenching _terror_.

That was when he noticed what she was gripping between her fingers. It was a small piece of paper. She closed the remaining distance between them and hesitated. Magnus was sure he was about to lunge out of the chair and snatch the paper away from her. But before he could contemplate it, she dropped the slip into his lap.

He picked it up hastily and unfolded it. There were only two words scribbled across it.

 _I’m sorry_.

Magnus growled as he slung the paper across the room. _Damn_ him.

“Jace, get up!” Maryse shouted, shaking her slumbering adopted son violently from where he rested on the couch.

At first there was incoherent mumbling, but then Jace slowly blinked his eyes open and grunted.

“What?” He muttered. The annoyance on his face would have been comical at any other time but now.

“We need you to track Alec. _Now_!” She ordered before disappearing through his bedroom doors.

When she returned she was holding one of Alec’s sweaters in her hands. It was old, ratted, and faded, but still his fiancé refused to part with it. It exasperated Magnus to no end. But Alec said that it was the comfiest thing he owned, so the older man decided to just leave it be. There were far more important things going on in their lives to waste his energy stressing over an article of clothing. Like this, for example.

Jace, instantly reverting from sleepy annoyance to protective brother within seconds of being handed the item. He pulled out his stele and drew the appropriate rune. Then he closed his eyes tight as he focused all of his energy on locating his reckless parabatai.

Several minutes, dozens of groans, and three changes of items later, Jace met their expectant eyes. But they could tell, just from the disappointment swirling around his golden eyes, that he had failed.

“I-I can’t seem to track him. It’s like something is blocking me out every time,” he stuttered.

Something...or someone. A block on tracking sounded awfully like the work of a warlock. But who could Alec possibly be getting his help from? Catarina would have reported to him the minute he showed up. So he sat there and combed his brains for all the known warlocks that would consider helping Alec. It had to be only the ones that hated him, because nobody else would even dare to keep this from him, afraid of incurring his wrath. Magic be damned.

There was only one name that kept flashing across his mind. One warlock that Alec knew of that hated Magnus with a fiery passion. The biggest pain in Magnus’ well-toned ass of this decade. Perhaps even the entire century.

“ _Lorenzo Rey_ ,” he hissed, fists clenching tight at his sides.

 


End file.
